LATEST (APRIL 18): 12-year-old Maxine Starmarie Zepeda-Lopez's death has been ruled as influenza, or the flu, according to the Clark County Coroner's Office.
The family is questioning the ruling.
Maxine died in a hospital bed, just four days after being sent home from school with a fever. Maxine's mom said before she died, her daughter felt cold and clammy but Maxine said she was hot.
They say the facts don't add up and they don't understand how she died from the flu when no one else in their family was sick.
"Within the hour, she was communicating with us and she wanted to go home and next thing you know, she's gone," said Maxine's father Antonio Lopez.
The family is working on hiring an attorney.
Due to privacy, University Medical Center would not comment specifically on Maxine's case but sent a statement from the pediatric emergency team.
"On top of being expert training, with decades of experience in providing life-saving care to children, they truly put their heart and soul into the care they deliver."
UPDATE: The Clark County School District said they chose not to send a note home because they don't have enough information on Maxine's death.
The coroner's office said the cause of death right now is undetermined and they've sent out for extensive tests to learn more.
It could be six to eight weeks before the tests are complete, or perhaps even longer. They said that is pretty typical.
ORIGINAL STORY:
A 7th grader’s death remains a mystery and now her parents are turning to lawyers for help.
Three days after her sudden death, the Clark County coroner is still working to determine Maxine Starmarie Zepeda-Lopez' cause of death.
Kids keep coming to sign a memorial at the house. we're told they've been coming for the last few days. @KTNV pic.twitter.com/UbweJGhBLT
— Lesley Marin (@lesleymarin) February 16, 2016
"It was just so fast,” Maxine’s mother, Christina Lopez said. ”It just doesn't make sense."
The 12-year-old died Tuesday at University Medical Center just days after her mother says she came home from Kenny Guinn Middle School complaining of a fever.
"She said her stomach was hurting and her neck," Christina Lopez said.
The family of 12-year-old Maxine are now lawyering up. They say things aren't adding up with their daughters death. pic.twitter.com/WBuxfmvAT7
— Lesley Marin (@lesleymarin) February 15, 2016
Her mother and father thought it was the flu.
According to her mother, Maxine was taken to Spring Valley Hospital where she fainted.
Maxine reportedly told her mother that she needed to go to the restroom. When her mother asked why, the girl responded that she was going to black out and then fell.
After hospital personnel took her vitals, gave her an EKG and took a X-ray of her stomach, Maxine was released with just a prescription for nausea pills.
Hours later, Maxine was complaining of pain again.
Lopez says that she thought her daughter's neck pain was because she had slept on it wrong. However, they called for help.
Paramedics rushed to the house, but only diagnosed the 12-year-old with dehydration. Shortly after, she was taken to UMC and her mother Christina was told it may be a virus.
"The last thing she said to me is 'Mommy I want to go home.' I don't know if she knew or what," Lopez said.
A family friend, Christina Mace, got Maxine’s dad to the hospital just minutes before she died Tuesday.
"They just said stop CPR and it was over," Tony Lopez said.
Three days after Maxine’s death, no one can determine what killed the popular seventh grader. The coroner says they are running numerous tests to determine the cause of death.
The Southern Nevada Health District says it is not investigating any cases tied to Guinn Middle School.
The Clark County School District has not sent any notes home to parents, saying the health district and coroner have not raised any concerns about Maxine’s condition being contagious.
Since her death, dozens of friends have been stopping by the house leaving messages and flowers for Maxine.
Her mother is leaving each of those students with a message of her own.
"If you feel sick in any way, go to the doctor's. Tell your mother, go. Even if it is nothing," Christina Lopez said.
The family is now holding on to memories of the 12-year-old girl they say loved to sing.
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for Maxine’s funeral expenses as they wait for medical examiners to determine how she died.
They have set up a separateGoFundMe to fund lawyer fees.
