A little girl died after her parents didn’t call an ambulance for three hours when she suffered an asthma attack so bad she turned blue.
Amy Lynn Modrow, 9, died Feb. 17 when she was declared brain dead after a week in the intensive care unit at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.
Her parents Anthony and Rachel Modrow, both 34, were charged Wednesday with second-degree manslaughter and accused of negligently causing Amy’s death.
Amy’s father allegedly didn’t refill his asthma inhaler for a month and her mother gave her “chicken nugget” a steam bath instead of calling an ambulance.
As she lay dying in the hospital, her parents documented her condition on social media and asked for donations, raising more than $10,000 online.
Amy Lynn Modrow, 9, died Feb. 17 when she was declared brain dead after a week in intensive care at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.
Her father Anthony Modrow reportedly said Amy told him a month before her death that her inhaler was empty, but he never refilled it.
Her parents Anthony and Rachel Modrow, both 34, were charged Wednesday with second-degree manslaughter and accused of negligently causing Amy’s death.
“My child is fighting for his life after a serious asthma attack. Help us,” Rachel wrote on Twitter.
After Amy’s death, she posted a tweet tagging professional wrestler Rebecca Quinn and told her friends “let’s show this post.”
“My 9 year old daughter just passed away, she was one of your biggest fans. You had such an impact on her. You were his hero. Thanks for giving him someone to look up to. She always wanted to go to Wrestlemania,” she wrote.
The message was accompanied by a haunting photo of Amy in hospital, hooked up to machines with a tube down her throat.
Anthony made a series of Facebook posts sharing his grief in the weeks between Amy’s death and his arrest.
“It’s official, Amy wasn’t sedated and didn’t wake up. She’s brain dead. They’re giving her until Sunday for an organ donation. I have to go home, that makes me hurts so much. I said goodbye,” he wrote on the day of his death.
He wrote on March 25: “Going to work with the kids and the memories of Amy hurt. Go home to where she died. I’m not well.
‘Use(d) to be a proud home owner. Now I prefer to move into bus sales and building which I should have done after Amy graduated. My house is eating me alive.
Amy’s parents shared updates on her condition on social media in the week leading up to her death.
Paramedics only arrived after a family friend called to the house saw her turning blue, grabbed her, took her to the parking lot and called 911.
Amy’s father allegedly didn’t refill his asthma inhaler for a month and her mother gave her “chicken nugget” a steam bath instead of calling an ambulance.
As she lay dying in the hospital, her parents documented her condition on social media and asked for donations, raising more than $10,000 online.
Amy’s asthma attack started while she was at a sleepover on February 9. Her friend noticed that she wasn’t feeling well and told her mother.
The friend’s mother became increasingly concerned the next morning because her inhaler, prescribed in her grandmother’s name, was not helping.
She called Anthony, who, according to court documents, simply sighed and handed the phone to his wife, who told him to take her home.
The friend’s mother told her that Amy was “not pretending” to have an asthma attack and offered to take her to a doctor, but she was rebuffed.
Amy texted her mother at 7:09 a.m. to ask for her medication, and by the time she got home at 7:30 a.m., she was wheezing, breathing heavily, could barely walk, and asked to see a doctor.
Instead, her mother reportedly did nothing until 10 a.m., when she finally called a family friend to come check on her.
When the friend arrived, Amy’s skin was blue, she couldn’t raise her arms and she was crying, but Rachel just gave her a steam bath, according to court documents.
Amy’s asthma attack started while she was at a sleepover on February 9. Her friend noticed she wasn’t feeling well and told her mother
Amy’s friend’s mother called Anthony, who, according to court documents, simply sighed and handed the phone to his wife, who told him to take her home.
The couple appeared in court Thursday where bail was set at $25,000 with a condition of house arrest if they posted it.
The friend insisted that Amy needed to go to the hospital and eventually grabbed her, carried the girl to the apartment building’s parking lot and called 911 at 10:40 a.m.
Paramedics didn’t arrive until 10:57 a.m. and worked on her in the parking lot before rushing her to hospital.
Anthony reportedly said Amy told him a month before her death that his inhaler was empty, but he never refilled it.
Prosecutors wrote that pediatricians consulted said Amy would have had a much better chance of survival if her parents had sent her to the hospital immediately.
They also said that a steam bath was not a recognized treatment for an asthma attack.
The couple appeared in court Thursday, where bail was set at $25,000, with a condition of house arrest if they posted it.
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