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The 9-year-old Newark girl loved gymnastics and never let her asthma stop her from doing anything she wanted, her mom, Niyah Julien, said. Syhriah always had her medication nearby in case things got bad, and if it did, there would be warning signs.
Not this time.
In the days leading up to Syhriah's death on March 3, she was her usual, cheerful self. It wasn't until she woke up complaining of chest pain at 3 a.m. that things took a turn for the worse.
Her mom put on her nebulizer but, within seconds, they knew it wasn’t working. Syhriah's parents rushed to get her in the car to get to the hospital, but things had already spiraled out of control, Julien said.
When Julien got her daughter's death certificate, she discovered she'd been battling a cold and rhinovirus, both taking a toll on her lungs, silently. The official cause of death was ruled cardiac arrest, Julien said, adding her daughter was pronounced dead at the hospital.
"Leading up to this, she was not on a machine," Julien said. "Other times she was in the ICU. This time, she was completely normal. There was no way for us to have known."
Cat Crowe, whose kids Julien used to nanny, launched a GoFundMe for the family that had raised more than $27,000 as of Wednesday, April 5.
"It's been really tough," Crowe said. "My daughter misses her best friend. We're everything we can for the family."
Crowe said Syhriah was a kind and giving girl who loved to ride her bike.
"She was really loving," Crowe said. "She was really special and very creative. She was a little mischievous sometimes, just a great little girl."
During the pandemic, Crowe drove to Newark every morning and picked up Niyah and Syhriah. Crowe's daughter and Syhriah would do home schooling together.
"We had our own little tradition," Crowe said. "We became a very close family."
The support for the family has been overwhelming and allowed Niyah the time to properly grieve and get her life back together, Crowe said. Crowe said even people from her native Australia have donated.
"I am extremely grateful," Crowe said. "This has really changed something for the family and allowed Syhriah to rest in a dignified way."
Since Syhriah's death, Julien says her family has been "living in the twilight zone."
Julien is hoping her daughter's story will raise awareness and help connect her with other parents of children with severe asthma.
Earlier this year, Syhriah was on the news at her school for a weather report, and came home feeling like a superstar.
"It was maybe a 20-second thing, but she was just so proud. I know she'd be proud to know her story's being out there. Don't take asthma for granted."
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