She was very proficient with one hand, Ryan said.
Over time the nerves kept growing, as did her pain. The next step was amputation of her hand and Cooper was looking forward to retirement in a few years. None of that will come to pass. She died Friday, March 5, at Banner Baywood Medical Center. She was 49.
Cooper was admitted to the hospital on February 27 after her lungs stopped. The night before, she had been ordered to work a 15-hour shift in the understaffed dispatch center despite reporting trouble breathing. She was still recovering from COVID-19, which her family believes she caught at work. Her asthma exacerbated the issues, but she was out of leave time. Yesterday, an attorney representing her husband and her estate filed a claim against the City of Phoenix alleging negligence and seeking a total of $35 million in damages.
1554: I might die, but ok.
1555: Please don t. Not on my watch. I appreciate you getting back to me quick. Please help yourself to the Mando Mart [free food] over there.
1556: I just came back from covid for a month… I can barely walk or breathe. I will stay sitting :(
The Mando Mart to which Cooper s supervisor refers is a collection of snacks put together by supervisors for when they mandate that employees stay past the end of their typical 10-hour shift. A regular occurrence in the understaffed dispatch center, a mandate is why Cooper, an asthmatic still recovering from six weeks of fighting the aftereffects of COVID-19, was required to work for more than 15 hours in late February, her first week back from sick leave. The 20-year 911 veteran told her mother that she feared discipline if she didn t comply.