A former Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader has died from sepsis shortly after giving birth to her stillborn daughter. Krystal Anderson, 40, was 21 weeks pregnant when doctors were unable to detect her daughter's heartbeat. Her child, Charlotte, was delivered by doctors on March 20 but was born at rest.
On the same day, Krystal spiked a fever and developed sepsis before suffering organ failure. She was placed on life support and underwent three surgeries, but tragically succumbed to the complications, as stated in her obituary. She was remembered for her "radiant smile that could light up the darkest room." The Chiefs are making plans to honor Anderson in the future.
Death after Complication at Childbirth
Krystal's death was announced by other Chiefs cheerleaders. "We are deeply saddened by the recent passing of CC alum Krystal. Krissy cheered with us for over 100 games from 2006-2011 and 2013-2016," the Chiefs cheerleaders wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
"During that time, she attended the Pro Bowl as the Chiefs representative in 2015, served as a captain of her team, cheered during the London game, and visited our troops around the world, including in Iraq, Kuwait, and throughout the United States.
"She was loved and adored by her teammates, fans, and strangers who were never strangers for long.
"After her time as a cheerleader, she continued to share her love of dance and Chiefs Cheer by serving in an alumni role on gameday, practices, and at events."
The Chiefs also remembered Krystal and paid tribute to her. "We will miss her kind spirit, joyful energy, and her sparkle," the post read.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and loved ones. We will cherish every moment we had with her. At a later date, we will share how we will continue to honor her legacy."
Gone too Soon
Krystal is survived by her husband, Clayton Anderson, with whom she was married for two years. "I feel lost," Clayton told local Fox affiliate WDAF. "There's a lot of people in this house, and it feels empty."
Krystal and her husband experienced a stillborn before they conceived Charlotte. Their baby boy James was born still, and his ashes were preserved inside a teddy bear.
"She was an absolute force for good. She made every room just light up. It was joyful love," Clayton said, holding the bear tightly.
Shanna Adamic, a former Chiefs cheerleader who cheered alongside Krystal, expressed that her friend of 18 years "was absolute magic in every sense of the word."
"She brought it on the field. She brought it to her friendships, she brought it to our tours we had around the world," Adamic said.
A GoFundMe campaign has been created in her honor, and it has raised over $66,000 as of Tuesday morning.
Krystal, a proud advocate for women in STEM, served as a software engineer at Oracle Health. During her tenure, she was awarded a patent for her work in developing software designed to assess the risk of post-partum hemorrhage.
Krystal's obituary noted that she dedicated much of her time to community service, volunteering with organizations such as Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Kansas City, Gabriella's Little Library, and the First Hand Foundation.
