Massachusetts

‘I Miss Her': Family Mourns 4-Year-Old Girl Who Died From Flu

A Massachusetts family is mourning the loss of a young girl who died from complications from the flu.

Sopheak Paak of Lowell was the happiest he could be after moving to the U.S. from Cambodia six years ago. His family joined him this past September.

All was going well until last week, when 4-year-old Puthiraksmey "Raksmey" Sopheak started getting sick.

Paak took his daughter to the hospital, and after a couple days, she started to feel better. So they came home.

But early Saturday morning, she started feeling sick again. He called 911 and she was rushed to the hospital.

She died less than two hours later.

"She is lovely. I love her," Paak said. "My wife, she cried hard. I miss her."

Raksmey Sopheak's death was the third flu-related fatality of the year. Earlier this month, officials said a 4-year-old girl from Framingham and a 12-year-old boy from Milford died from the flu. Both cases were unrelated.

Contact Us