On Friday, tributes to Mandy Brown flooded social media circles of people who knew and worked with her. The 30-year old mother of two died Thursday after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
"For her to be gone so young, this is just an absolute tragic thing for her and her family," Jason Countryman said. Countryman is a firefighter/paramedic for the city of Trophy Club who once worked with Brown at CareFlite.
Brown was a paramedic on the ambulances that transport patients at CareFlite from 2014 to 2017.
"But she also spent time in our education department, educating other paramedics and EMTs," CareFlite CEO Jim Swartz said. "That's how good we think she was."
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"She was very good, very passionate, very knowledgeable," Countryman said. "She was such a warm, caring person. She loved people. She loved her job... she was first a paramedic and then switched to being a nurse."
Brown was a nurse at Children's in Dallas during the height of the pandemic. She left in December 2020 for a nursing job in east Texas.
"We know the dangers we're getting into," Countryman said of frontline workers. "We accept those dangers. It's kinda why we get into this job. We care more about helping people than we do ourselves."
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NBC 5 does not know where or how Brown was exposed to COVID-19, or if she was vaccinated.
"We didn't ever broach that subject," Countryman said. "As far as she being vaccinated, I do not know."
Brown's family did not want to discuss her COVID vaccine status. By phone, her mother mourned their loss.
"She was a sweet, caring, loving, beautiful soul," Brown's mother said.
