Krystal Lakeshia Anderson, a longtime cheerleader for the Kansas City Chiefs and a women’s health champion, died following a stillbirth. According to CBS News, Anderson, 40, died on March 20 “shortly after the birth of her daughter, Charlotte Willow Anderson, who was born at rest.”
Anderson passed away after a “brave battle against sepsis,” according to a GoFundMe put up to cover medical expenses, memorial ceremonies, and a “legacy fund.” “Krissy sought out hospitalization during her 21st week of pregnancy, and despite the trauma of losing her baby girl, Charlotte, during childbirth, she fought on,” the statement read.
“Her fight with sepsis, led to organ failure, and she was placed on life support. Krissy underwent three surgeries, but the source of infection remained elusive.”
Anderson cheered for the NFL for nearly 100 games between 2006-2011 and 2013-2016, according to the Kansas City Chiefs cheerleading team on Instagram. Anderson also represented the Chiefs at the 2015 Pro Bowl and has “served as a captain of her team, cheered during the London game, and visited our troops around the world, including in Iraq, Kuwait, and throughout the United States,” according to the statement.
“She was loved and adored by her teammates, fans, and strangers who were never strangers for long,” the statement also said, adding that Anderson held an alumni role on the team after her time as a cheerleader.
In addition to cheerleading, the obituary mentioned that the 40-year-old worked as a Software Engineer at Oracle Health (formerly Cerner). She has been said to have made “significant contributions to improving healthcare, including being awarded a patent for developing software that assesses the risk of post-partum hemorrhage.”
Anderson is survived by her husband, parents, and other family members. The obituary also stated that she was “preceded in death by her infant son, James Charles, and infant daughter, Charlotte Willow.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, sepsis develops when the immune system reacts dangerously to an infection. “It causes widespread inflammation throughout your body, which can result in tissue damage, organ failure, and even death.” Many different types of infections can cause sepsis, which is a medical emergency.
According to the World Health Organization, maternal sepsis is a “life-threatening condition that arises when the body’s response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs during pregnancy, childbirth, post-abortion or the postpartum period.” It is also the third leading cause of maternal death.
In 2020, HowAfrica reported that Black women in the U.S. died during pregnancy or in the months after giving birth at twice the rate of white women and three times the rate of Hispanic women.
The report presents standardized maternal mortality statistics from all 50 states, marking a significant step towards reducing pregnancy-related deaths nationwide.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that the United States ranks last among developed nations in terms of maternal mortality, with approximately 700 women dying year from pregnancy or delivery problems.
“This is an important metric to get properly. Bob Anderson, chief of the mortality statistics section of the National Center for Health Statistics, stated that it made it impossible to make sense of national trends.
According to a 2016 study by the Brookings Institution, Black moms with advanced professional degrees, such as a master’s degree or more, have a higher risk of child mortality than white women with only an eighth-grade education.