El Paso, Texas (KTSM) — The El Paso native and former Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader died Wednesday, March 20, after giving birth to her stillborn daughter.
Crystal Cunningham Anderson was a 2001 graduate of Eastwood High School and a veteran cheerleader for the Kansas City Chiefs.
At age 40 and 21 weeks pregnant, Anderson died unexpectedly after giving birth to her stillborn daughter, Charlotte Willow.
“She always wanted to be a mother,” said Bishop Anthony Flowers, who knew Crystal.
According to a doctor at the Texas Tech University Health Science Center, women are strong and indestructible.
“We have to understand that, you know, any pregnancy can become a high-risk situation,” says Dr. Sirisha Reddy, an obstetrician-gynecologist (OBGYN).
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the death rate for women due to pregnancy complications has increased.
Krystal’s close friends told KTSM that Krystal has been a special person since the age of eight.
“She loved sparkly things. She had big, bright, sparkly shoes because it matched her. She was really the light. She was the light at every, literally every door,” said a friend of Crystal’s.
Friends even talked about how Crystal would plan their live dreams and the jobs they wanted
“Though after 40 years he stepped into the world. But he accomplished a great deal,” said Flowers.
KTSM asked Krystal’s friends what they would say to her if she were still here today, and they said it would be a simple “I love you.”
“If you see him, imagine how beautiful a real crystal with C is like a precious crystal and a diamond in the sky. So, every time we think of him, I think of the brightest star, and he lives in one of those today. Her legacy will live on forever, it will never die,” said a friend of Crystal’s.
To visit Krystal’s GoFundme, click here.
