HOUSTON — A Houston family is mourning the death of 44-year-old Lynn Nichols. Her brother said his younger sister died from COVID-19 and he hopes her story can convince others to get the vaccine before it's too late.
"I can't get her voice out of my head ... her laughter ... (she had) her own sense of humor," Christopher Nichols said.
Christopher Nichols is Lynn's older brother.
Lynn, a mother of four and also a grandmother, got COVID last month. She went to the hospital on July 24. She was not vaccinated.
"From there, she underwent different types of treatments and it was presumed she was getting better. They actually let her out of the ICU and put her back in a regular room," Christopher Nichols said.
But then, her health started to deteriorate, again.
"One of her lungs shrunk and it was severely damaged and she contracted pneumonia as a result of it," Christopher Nichols said.
That's when she landed back in the ICU. On Aug. 18, the family got the call they had been dreading. Lynn's two older brothers rushed to the hospital to be by her side.
"I was able to persuade the doctors to let me in the room. This may be the last time I may see my sister. I was able to go to the room and hold her hand," Christopher Nichols said.
Lynn died in the hospital. She leaves behind her four children, grandchildren and her fiancé.
Her family hopes others can learn from the pain they're enduring.
"Go out. Get vaccinated. Protect yourself. Wear your mask. ... It's very serious. People are dying," Christopher Nichols said.
The family set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for funeral expenses.