Young Mother Dies Of COVID-19; 'She Loved Everybody And Everybody Loved Her'

CHICAGO (CBS) -- COVID-19 has claimed 2,662 lives in Illinois.

One thousand of those just in Chicago, including a 22-year-old mother.

CBS 2's Jim Williams reports, Nyla Moore knew she had to go to the hospital when she couldn't breathe.

She might have been the youngest of six children, but she was the family leader, according to her mother.

"She was the party planner. She was our DJ. She would come up with all kind of fun games for us to play. She just always wanted family there," said Nikki Collins-Moore.

Nyla was an outstanding student at Simeon High School, her mother said. One teacher noted her academic achievement and her kindness and thought she'd be perfect to assist special needs children.

"A teacher saw her and how patient she was, how caring and loving she was," Moore said.

On April 10, Nyla was diagnosed with COVID-19 at Rush Medical Center.  She had asthma and had been struggling to breathe. For three weeks, Nyla was on a ventilator.

Still, her family was hopeful.

"They kept doing all the procedures and saying she was getting better. They saw improvement, progress and all of sudden it just turned around so quickly."

On May 1, Nyla Moore died. She was 22.

"Me and husband, we shot to the hospital and when we got half way there, they said she had lost her life. And they did all they could do," Moore said.

On Monday afternoon, her parents picked up her possessions at the hospital.

Nyla is survived by her two-year-old son Eric, her parents and siblings, and many admirers.

"She was an amazing mom, she was an amazing sister, she was an amazing daughter," Moore said. "And she loved everybody and everybody loved her."

Nyla's little son already knows his numbers, his colors, knows about dinosaurs, all taught all that by his mother, the family said.