Ruby Boston was small for her age, but from her tiny frame sprung two long arms that were always ready for cuddles.
The affectionate five-year-old, who is the youngest Queenslander to die after contracting COVID, will be farewelled today at a service on the Sunshine Coast.
Long before coronavirus surged across Queensland, Ruby was diagnosed with a rare degenerative genetic disorder called Cockayne syndrome.
But her aunt Lucinda Jeffery said that never dampened the little girl's spirit.
"Ruby was just — she was a beautiful little girl," she said.
"Just through her gestures and smiles and looking around, you knew whether she was happy or sad or uncomfortable.
"But she wasn't sad too often."
Ms Jeffery said Ruby, who often sported bright pink-rimmed glasses, never grew out of size zero baby clothes.
"She was just so little," she said.
From a little cough to the ICU
Ruby contracted COVID-19 just days before the coronavirus vaccine was available to her age group.
To her family, the symptoms seemed mild.
They noticed her coughing, but Ms Jeffery said there were no other signs associated with severe cases of coronavirus.
"She didn't have any temperatures, she didn't have any chills," she said.
"She's non-verbal, so we didn't know if she had a headache or a sore body.
"It was just a little cough that she had."
Doctors told Ruby's mum, Ashleigh McCosker, that it looked as if her girl was on the road to recovery.
But on Monday, February 1, Ruby's health suddenly deteriorated.
Ms McCosker realised her breathing had changed as she was unbuckling her from the car.
She took Ruby straight to the paediatric intensive care unit at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital.
But within hours Ruby had gone into cardiac arrest.
Ruby's sudden death shocked her friends, carers, and the Sunshine Coast community.
In the 10 days since the tragedy, an online fundraiser has received more than $25,000 in donations.
'Together in heaven'
Ruby's adoring grandfather died about 18 months ago and Ms Jeffrey said the family imagined the two of them were now inseparable again.
"They had a really tight-knit bond and we just like to think that they're together in heaven now," she said.
"I picture her free from the boundaries or the restrictions on her little body.
The family will release butterflies as a tribute to Ruby after the funeral service.
