On Thursday, while on a family vacation from Joplin, Missouri, elementary school student Sydney Weston became unexpectedly sick and unresponsive shortly after boarding the plane to Chicago.
The plane made an emergency landing in Peoria, Illinois. Emergency technicians tried to revive her, but nothing brought her back.
The distraught family has decided to speak out about what happened on the airplane for the first time since the horrific event.
They’ve asked that people respect their privacy as they work through their profound sadness.
According to the family’s obituary, Sydney Mae came into their world on June 21, 2015, packed with boundless energy and a profound love for life.
Her infectious happiness left an indelible mark on everyone she encountered. She lived a beautiful life and was their cherished daughter.
Everyone in her family was in awe of her curiosity and love of learning. Every morning before school, she had a special ritual with her dad, and they spoke about how she would welcome her instructors cordially.
Along with her love of swimming, soccer, and fishing, she reveled in being a girl and enjoyed playing outside with her dad and brother. The people closest to her say that family game night was her favorite thing to do. They said she was the best at memory games they’d ever seen. Her fascination with voting procedures and interest in politics began at an early age.
Sydney’s burial service will be on Tuesday. The family has asked that everyone attend wear bright colors, mainly pink, which the little girl loved.
The cause of death is still up in the air, as many investigations are underway, according to the Peoria County coroner’s office.
Nonetheless, authorities have ruled out any possibility of malice, negligence, or abuse.
Histology, biopsies, cultures, blood hematology and chemistry, and toxicology tests are all things that the coroner mentioned they would be expecting. The usual turnaround time for these tests is four to six weeks. After the tests are finished, the objective is to provide the little girl’s family with the answers they’ve been waiting for by giving a definitive cause of death.
