Middletown girl, 9, diagnosed with coronavirus has died

Additional school counselors will be available today at Wildwood, the district said.

In a letter to parents, staff and the Middletown community, Superintendent Marlon Styles Jr. wrote: “It is with great sadness that I report that one of our students has died as a result of a medical mystery, possibly from COVID-19 complications. Dorielis Reyes-Paula, a Wildwood Elementary student, tested positive for COVID-19 in June. All of us are deeply saddened by the loss of this young person and want you to know that we are here to help you in any way we can.

“Each of us will react to death in our own way, and we need to be respectful of each other’s response. Feeling sad is a normal reaction to any loss. Some students may not have known the individual very well and may not be as affected, while others may have been close to the person and experience a great deal of sadness. Some students may find they are having difficulty concentrating on their school work, while others may find that diving into their school work is a good distraction."

As a way to offset medical bills, her mother, Doranny Paula, established a GoFundMe account that collected $19,000, which was $4,000 more than its goal.

“While the family grieves, we take comfort that our community rallied around them, lifted them up, and gave help with the medical bills,” the district said on its Facebook page. “We hope the family finds peace. Thank you.”

Last week, her mother said doctors told her Dorielis was in the “process of dying.”

“It’s so hard,” Paula said last week while standing outside her daughter’s hospital room. “You never expect your kid, so young, to get this sick.”

The last three months — since her daughter, the oldest of her five children, was admitted into the hospital on May 19 — have been a blur for Paula, 31, who moved from Maryland to Middletown in 2014 to be with her aunt.

After Dorielis complained the left side of her body was weak and she was having trouble walking, she was taken to the hospital. She was tested for COVID-19 and it was positive, her mother said.