PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. \u2014 A 16-year-old Paulding County girl died Monday after her family says she went into cardiac arrest after suffering symptoms of the flu.<\/p>\n
Bailey Cruse was a 10th grader at South Paulding High School.<\/p>\n
Crystal Steagall, whose daughter was Bailey\u2019s best friend, told Channel 2\u2019s Bryan Mims she was \u201cjust a beautiful soul, truly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been very traumatic for our family,\u201d she said. \u201cShe was like a second daughter to us. Our kids did vacations together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bailey\u2019s parents, Brad and Erin Cruse, declined interviews, but they posted on social media that Bailey became sick with flu-like symptoms. She was recovering well at home, they said, when she experienced a sudden cardiac arrest. <\/p>\n
\u201cDespite her father\u2019s immediate effort and CPR, by the time her heart responded at the hospital, too much time had passed, resulting in extensive brain damage,\u201d they wrote. <\/p>\n
At the hospital, Bailey was diagnosed with the flu and died three days later.<\/p>\n
The parents told Mims that Bailey had no chronic or preexisting condition and rarely became sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe final days at the hospital were laughter and sharing memories,\u201d Steagall said. \u201cThe girls painted her fingernails because we knew she wanted to look beautiful. She always did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steagall\u2019s daughter, Maren, had been friends with Bailey since elementary school. She described Bailey as \u201cfoodie\u201d who loved to shop and spend time at the lake, and they were both on a cheerleading team together. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe were just hanging out the night of the Super Bowl,\u201d she said. \u201cShe was perfectly fine. She was feeling fine. Then it all just happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Dhuval Desai of Atlanta Internists said it\u2019s rare for a healthy teenager to suffer cardiac arrest from the flu. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat just goes to show how virulent and how invasive the virus can be,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s the inflammation of the body as it fights the virus that can lead to serious complications. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe unfortunate situation here is that it does sound like her body responded in a way that trying to fight this infection went into multi-organ failure, leading to the cardiac arrest,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Her parents wrote that Bailey died surrounded by family and \u201cher dearest friends in prayer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bailey was an only child, and her mother told Mims that her daughter \u201cloved Jesus. She told everyone she could about him.\u201d<\/p>\n
South Paulding High School has been closed for winter break this week and will have counselors on campus when students return Monday.<\/p>\n
The school sent a message this message to families: \u201cTogether, we will honor Bailey\u2019s memory and cover her family and friends with prayer and support.\u201d <\/p>\n
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks<\/a>]<\/p>\n