Jeannie Hayes, an anchor at Rockford NBC affiliate WREX, died Thursday from complications of leukemia. She was 29.
Hayes was diagnosed with advanced leukemia on Tuesday, according to WREX. “So so much pain. Everything hurts. Add nausea & more pain, and that about covers it,” Hayes wrote on Twitter Monday.
According to NewsBlues, Hayes was diagnosed with a bladder infection when she sought medical treatment Monday. She called 911 on Tuesday after her condition had worsened. Doctors diagnosed her with leukemia and performed emergency surgery on Wednesday, as a result of which she fell into a coma.
Hayes, who joined WREX in 2005, anchored the noon newscast. The station will air tributes to her on Friday’s evening newscasts. “The pictures, stories and memories are endless, so we will try to compile the best in the way that we know Jeannie would want us to,” a statement on the WREX website reads.