Yahoo Autos A Virginia couple was heartbroken after they lost their 10-year-old daughter to COVID-19. They quickly pulled their youngest child from school and got him vaccinated.
A Virginia family is still recovering from the loss of their 10-year-old daughter.
Teresa Sperry, a fifth grader, died after contracting COVID-19.
Weeks later, her brother, 9, received the Pfizer vaccine in her honor.
The holiday season has been difficult for the Sperry family after losing their 10-year-old daughter in September.
"My daughter's two favorite holidays were Christmas and Halloween," said Jeff Sperry, whose family lives in Virginia. "Halloween was hard because we got her a mask and carved her a pumpkin. We took it to her grave, and I took some candy out there for her. I could tell you for Christmas it's going to be hard."
Teresa Sperry, 10, died from complications of the virus on September 27, about a month before the first coronavirus vaccine for children was authorized. Jeff and his wife, Nicole, said that when Teresa, who was a fifth grader at Hillpoint Elementary School in Suffolk, first started having symptoms, she had a high fever and headaches.
"She was very healthy and active. She was a pure soul around other people. She was the type of person that always gave compliments to complete strangers," Nicole said. " She loved being around other people and just being helpful."
Although it's unclear how Teresa contracted the virus, her parents have said that she was tasked with the classroom job of walking sick and hurt children to the nurse's office days before she died.
"She came home, and she let me know that she is the class nurse. And I said, 'What is a class nurse? What is this job? What do you mean?' And she said that it was her job to take anybody that was sick or hurt to the nurse," Jeff recalled. "It blew my mind. Because, one, this is the middle of the freaking pandemic. Two, she's unvaccinated. Three, nobody bothered to let me know this was happening. I had no idea."
Suffolk Public Schools investigated the incident and disputed their claims. It said the staff followed the school's COVID-19 protocol. A spokesperson, citing the nurse, told The Virginian-Pilot that Teresa had escorted a student who had injured his ankle to the nurse's office.
"Our staff did adhere to the protocol," the spokesperson told the outlet. "If a student is sick, an administrator comes and walks them down. That part was upheld."
"We stand by what Teresa told us," Nicole said. "She is not the type of person that would've lied about something like that."
