Story of Alabama Woman Raising 12 Children after Sister and Brother-in-Law Died of COVID-19

Franchesca McCall's life suddenly changed when her sister and brother-in-law passed away from COVID-19. Now the loving sister is raising 12 kids on her own.

The coronavirus pandemic which has affected millions of people globally left some homes more broken than others. For Franchesca McCall, the virus took away her sister and her brother-in-law within one month of each other.

The hardworking single mom is now trying to pick up the pieces and has adopted her sister’s five children as well as her seven biological children.

In a heartfelt fundraiser on GoFundMe.com, McCall opened up about how her life changed overnight. The 40-year-old never expected things to take a tragic turn. She told WBRC:

“She did all the proper precautions. She wore the mask, she kept her distance, she did the proper handwashing and all the proper things she was supposed to do,"

McCall said although her sister, Chantale McCall, worked in the healthcare field, she was always cautious, so the family is unsure how she contracted the virus.

McCall’s mother and children had also been in close contact with Chantale and her husband, but fortunately, everyone else received negative test results.

On September 16, Chantale passed away after being put on a ventilator at Birmingham Hospital. Her husband, Rance Martin, died just over a month later, on what would have been Chantale’s 35th birthday.

McCall has since taken in her sister’s five children, who are aged between two and 17 years. In Addition to her own seven kids, living together has been challenging.

The Birmingham resident said that the kids have been separated into different rooms, with the boys in one room and the girls sharing two bedrooms.

McCall’s mother has been helping her with the kids who are learning from home due to fears of contracting or spreading the virus. She is also currently working from home.

The loving mom said the kids were coping well but still had moments of sadness and with the Christmas Holidays approaching, McCall was determined to make the holiday extra special.

McCall’s Go Fund Me fundraiser has only been active for four days, but kind strangers have rallied to support the heartbroken family, raising over USD $298,000 to give the kids a truly merry Christmas.

The story of McCall is similar to that of a single New York father, Lamont Thomas, who adopted five siblings in addition to another five adopted and two biological kids.

In Colorado, foster mom Katie Page adopted three out of five siblings by sheer chance as she did not know that her first adopted son had siblings.