NewsLocal News

Actions

UB Med. School grad dies of brain bleed after fighting COVID-19

Posted at 3:05 PM, Sep 20, 2020
and last updated 2020-09-20 15:05:44-04

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A University at Buffalo Med. School grad has died of a brain bleed after fighting COVID-19.

Adeline Fagan was diagnosed with COVID-19 about two months ago. She graduated from UB's Jacobs School of Medicine last year and was a second year OBGYN resident in Houston.

On July 8th she went in for a 12 hour shift in the ER, her sister Maureen Fagan said in an August interview with WKBW that she later started to feel sick.

“She went into work you know feeling really well, and by the mid-morning she just felt like she was getting a headache, and just wasn’t feeling right," Maureen said. "And by the time she came home that evening, she was just sore all over, splitting headache, and started to have difficulty breathing.”

A week later, Adeline was admitted to the hospital, after multiple treatments and a ventilator, she still wasn't getting enough oxygen and was put on an ECMO machine.

Throughout her battle the Syracuse family said they received support from her medical school friends and professors.

On September 19 the family released the following update:

“Written by Brant Fagan, Adeline's dad:

September 19, 2020, 4:24 AM Central Time

The time the world stopped for a moment and will never be the same.
Our beautiful daughter, sister, friend, physician, Adeline Marie Fagan, MD passed away.

We want to sincerely thank all who supported Adeline and us through this difficult time. You were all there cheering and praying and crying. The number of well wishes and caring people humbles us. Even in this darkest of times, there are good people willing to share a piece of themselves for the sake of another.

If you can do one thing, be an “Adeline” in the world. Be passionate about helping others less fortunate, have a smile on your face, a laugh in your heart, and a Disney tune on your lips.
We love you, Adeline, with all our hearts. ♥️
_____________________________________________

So you know what happened: Adeline was doing wonderfully for the last few days. Last night was no different. Around 10:00 we called and got a good report. As we settled down for the night 30 minutes later, the phone rang - Houston, TX. There was a problem and we needed to decide about performing a procedure to relieve the pressure of a massive brain bleed. The nurse came into her room for a routine task and noticed Adeline was not responsive. They immediately rushed her for a CT scan which showed the extent of the damage. The neurosurgeon said it was a “1 in a million” chance she would even survive the procedure, but that Adeline would have several severe cognitive and sensory limitations if she did survive. Of that the doctor was sure. Everyone was crushed by the events, the nurses, the doctors, and, of course, us. The doctor said they have seen this type of event in COVID patients that spend time on ECMO. The vascular system is also compromised by the virus, resulting in bleeds. We spent the remaining minutes hugging, comforting, and talking to Adeline. And then the world stopped...”

A GoFundMe was started August 10 to help Adeline conquer COVID, $144,233 has been raised to this point.