Ohio fourth-grader dies of flu-related cardiac arrest

MASON, Ohio — Sable Gibson, a fourth-grader, died Tuesday of cardiac arrest connected to strep throat and influenza, Mason City Schools spokeswoman Tracey Carson wrote in a message to parents.

Gibson received the double diagnosis early Tuesday morning and died hours later.

“Sable was a great friend with a big heart who loved the color pink,” Carson wrote.

She encouraged everyone in the district to wear pink to school Thursday in her memory.

Family medicine physician Dr. Achint Choksy told WCPO that children can be at greater risk of suffering serious flu symptoms or death because of their environment.

"Because kids go to school and they're in a public environment more often and around many people," Choksy said. "They're more likely to get it."

Western Row brought in additional counselors to help Gibson’s friends and classmates deal with the news of her death.