Kentucky teen, 18, with ‘pure gold’ heart dies after helping flood clean-up
A Kentucky teenager with a heart of “pure gold” fell ill and died after helping the area recover from recent severe floods, according to reports.
Aaron “Mick” Crawford on Wednesday was recorded as the 38th person to die because of the flooding that ripped through the region last month, CBS News reported.
“Mick had just turned 18 on July 23,” the late teenager’s sister, Rachel Crawford, said of her younger brother.
“He was the best little brother, son, friend and just all-around person ever. He loved everyone and loved deeply. He loved Jesus and his church,” she told Fox News Digital.
The devout Christian teen — the youngest of eight siblings — had jumped to the aide of flood victims in the southeastern part of the state, his mother, Ronda Crawford, wrote in a Facebook post.
He volunteered to help clean-up efforts before he suddenly started feeling sick a few days later, his heartbroken kin told news outlets.
Crawford was hospitalized at University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington four days before he died on Friday, the outlet reported.
Doctors told Crawford’s family that the teenager died of cardiac arrest, but were unable to conclude what caused that, Fox News reported.
Perry County Sheriff Joe Engle, Crawford’s friend and pastor, told CBS, “He was just a joy to be around.”
Crawford was eager to help out fellow eastern Kentuckians when the rain ravaged the region, the sheriff said.
“As soon as we understood we had a major disaster going on here, he messaged me,” he said, according to CBS. “I’m not sure it had even quit raining yet by the time he sent me a message on Facebook. He said, ‘Wanting to know where to go. Wanting to know where to help.'”
Crawford’s cousin, Nix Ritchie, who uses they/ them pronouns, said Crawford didn’t have any health issues prior to the clean-up efforts.
“It came out of nowhere,” Ritchie told The Courier-Journal. “We were still reeling from the flood and the next thing I know, I hear he’s in the ICU two hours away.”
The family said they donated Crawford’s organs because of his generosity and selflessness, according to the Fox report published Wednesday.
“He had the best heart that was pure gold, and I hope whoever gets his heart is worthy of it,” the late teen’s sister added to the news outlet.
Rachel Crawford recounted her late brother’s devotion to his faith.
“He used to embarrass me because he would stop and pray for people who he didn’t know anywhere,” Rachel said, according to The Courier Journal article out Tuesday. “He was the Christian I will always aspire to be. He was the person I will always aspire to be.”
“His main goal in life was to leave the world better than he found it.”
