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LEAWOOD, Kan. (WDAF) — A former Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader has died after giving birth to her daughter, who also passed away, family members told Nexstar’s WDAF.
Krystal Anderson was only 40 years old when she died unexpectedly on Wednesday, March 20.
Relatives said she was 21 weeks pregnant when doctors couldn’t detect her daughter Charlotte’s heartbeat. Doctors delivered Charlotte, who was born at rest.
Anderson then spiked a fever and became septic before she experienced organ failure, according to her family. Despite three surgeries, she died days later.
“I feel lost,” her husband, Clayton Anderson, said in an interview with WDAF. “There’s a lot of people in this house, and it feels empty.
A study published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that maternal deaths in the U.S. have more than doubled over two decades. It said Black mothers died at the highest rate.
“It’s very well known that Black mothers in the United States die at a higher rate than their white counterparts — and if you look at the specific rate, it’s almost three times almost three times of white moms,” said Dr. Marc Parrish, the director of the Maternal Fetal Medicine Division at the University of Kansas Health System.
Beyond taking the field as a Chiefs cheerleader for 10 seasons at Arrowhead Stadium, Anderson had other passions. Loved ones said she pushed for Black women in STEM and women’s health.
“She was absolute magic in every sense of the word,” her friend, Shanna Adamic, said. “She brought it on the field. She brought it to her friendships. She brought it to our tours we had around the world.”
Anderson’s husband said she was also a yoga instructor and a software engineer.
“She was an absolute force for good. She made every room just light up,” he said, adding that she touched her community with her kind spirit.
Services for Anderson are being held this week.
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