The cause of death has been revealed for Sydney Weston, an 8-year-old girl from Missouri who died after falling ill during a flight in June.
Peoria County coroner Jamie Harwood said in a press release that Weston died of “complications of chronic primary adrenalitis in the setting of multiple infections, including Strep and Enterovirus.”
Harwood explained he reached this conclusion “after consideration of the circumstances surrounding her death in correlation with a review of the medical records and after a complete autopsy with extensive ancillary studies.”
According to the announcement, the girl was also diagnosed with duodenitis, which is inflammation of the small intestine, and thyroiditis, an inflammation of the thyroid gland.
Harwood discovered that the extensive list of conditions indicated Weston may have been affected by an autoimmune disorder, causing her body to attack its own healthy cells and impairing the function of her organs.
“The associated diagnoses of chronic adrenalitis, duodenitis, and thyroiditis are suggestive of an underlying autoimmune disorder,” Harwood detailed.
Sydney Weston, the Girl Who Tragically Died on a Flight, Remembered
On Thursday, June 13, Weston was aboard a SkyWest Airlines flight from Joplin to Chicago. She became unresponsive, according to a statement from the coroner’s office shared on Facebook. Officials reported that Weston’s family alerted the flight crew to the medical emergency. This prompted the plane to be diverted to Peoria.
Upon landing, Weston was found unresponsive, with neither breath nor pulse, according to the coroner’s office. She was subsequently transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 8:05 a.m. local time.
A GoFundMe page is active in support of Sydney’s family. As of this writing, it has raised just over $21,000 of a $25,000 goal.
“She will forever be remembered for the happiness she brought to every single person she encountered. Our hearts are heavy. She was our baby girl and we celebrate her beautiful life,” Sydney’s obituary read.
Weston passed away just eight days before her ninth birthday, having envisioned a grand skating party to celebrate. She eagerly anticipated her family’s summer vacation and cherished visits to Silver Dollar City, a beloved amusement park in Missouri. She also had a special fondness for Taylor Swift’s song “Karma.”