Over $40,000 Raised For Family Of Norwalk Girl Who Died From Flu

NORWALK, CT — A GoFundMe page set up for the family of a young Norwalk girl has raised over $40,000 in only a day. The page was set up in light of the "tragic and unexpected passing" of 6-year-old Emma Splan, who officials believe died from flu-related complications Sunday night.

The page describes Emma as a vibrant girl who was always smiling, laughing and enjoying life. She was loved dearly by her parents, Christy Pugh and Dave Splan, as well as everyone else who had the pleasure of knowing her.

As of 5 p.m. on Tuesday, the page has raised $48,216 of a $50,000 goal in only one day. The page originally aimed for a smaller goal that had to be raised twice due to the influx of support from over 700 donors hoping to help the family as they deal with this immense tragedy.

Those who wish to donate may still do so at gofundme.com.

"All donations will go directly to [Emma's] family to help them with the unexpected costs of losing their beloved daughter so suddenly. Any donation, no matter how small, can make a huge difference," the page states.

According to NBC Connecticut, Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling said Emma's heartbreaking passing is being investigated as a a possible flu-related death. A friend of the family told NBC that Emma had her flu shot and was immediately taken to her doctor once her symptoms developed.

Emma's symptoms developed on Thursday and she was brought to the doctor. She was hospitalized on Sunday and died later that night. She was a student at Columbus Magnet School in Norwalk.

See also: CT Child's Death Investigated As Flu-Related

• New Canaan 10-Year-Old Died Of Flu Complications: Report

According to Fox 61, Principal Medard Thomas said the school had been deploying a strong disinfectant to clean the school, and he had ordered another deep cleaning of the school .

Nico Mallozzi, a 10-year-old New Canaan child who died unexpectedly on Jan. 14, suffered from the flu, which turned to pneumonia and eventually sepsis.

The flu has been worse than ever this year, as 14 more people died from flu-related deaths last week, according to the state Department of Public Health.

"Sadly, 14 more influenza-associated deaths were reported to us last week," DPH Commissioner Raul Pino said in a release. "Because we are still experiencing widespread influenza actively, it is likely that we will continue to see additional flu-related deaths in the coming weeks."

According to this week's update, a total of 1,638 patients have been hospitalized with confirmed cases of flu between Aug. 27, 2017 and Feb. 10, 2018, and 4,915 influenza positive laboratory tests have been reported so far this season.

DPH officials said 77 deaths have been attributed to the flu so far this season, which is the highest number of influenza-associated deaths reported to the department in the past five years.

Of these deaths, 62 were among patients over the age of 65, nine were 50-64 years of age, four were 25-49 years of age, one was between 19 and 24-years-old and one was between 5 and 18-years-old.

Photo credit: GoFundMe

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