The family of a former NFL cheerleader is dealing with a pair of tragedies this week.
Krystal Anderson gave birth to a stillborn daughter, Charlotte Willow, and then herself succumbed on March 20 after a hard-fought battle with sepsis.
She was only 40 years old.
“Krissy sought out hospitalization during her 21st week of pregnancy, and despite the trauma of losing her baby girl, Charlotte, during childbirth, she fought on,” reads a GoFundMe page set up to help cover her medical expenses and memorial service. “Her fight with sepsis, led to organ failure, and she was placed on life support. Krissy underwent three surgeries, but the source of infection remained elusive.”
According to her obituary, Anderson is survived by her husband Clayton William Anderson, parents Bertha and Burnette (BJ) Johnson and brother Corey Johnson among other extended relatives and in-laws. She is preceded in death by her daughter Charlotte and infant son, James Charles.
“Krissy and her husband, Clayton, have touched countless lives in our community,” the GoFundMe continues. “As a former NFL cheerleader for the Kansas City Chiefs, Krissy brought her energy and passion to every performance for ten seasons--she was a dynamic athlete.”
Anderson performed as a Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader for a total of eight years over two different stints with the club. Since ending her time with the Chiefs in 2016, she had become both a yoga instructor and a software engineer.
While in that capacity at Oracle Health, she made “significant contributions to improving healthcare, including being awarded a patent for developing software that assesses the risk of post-partum hemorrhage.”
Maternal sepsis “arises when the body’s response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs,” according to the World Health Organization.