Conservative Writer and Fox Guest Bre Payton Dies at 26 After Sudden Illness

Bre Payton, a conservative writer at The Federalist and guest on Fox News, died at the age of 26 on Dec. 28 (Twitter/Bre Payton)

Bre Payton, a conservative writer at The Federalist and a regular guest on Fox News, died at the age of 26 on Dec. 28, according to reports.

The reports said doctors confirmed she contacted “H1N1 flu and possibly meningitis.” It was described as a sudden illness, Fox News reported.

“Around 8:30 this morning, December 27th, Bre’s friend went into her room and found her unresponsive and barely breathing. She immediately called 911 and Bre was taken to the hospital where she was admitted to the ICU, sedated & intubated, and doctors began working up a diagnosis,” said a post on the CaringBridge charity website before her death.

The same post added: “After a CT scan and hours of testing, they have determined she has the H1N1 flu and possibly meningitis. The doctors are concerned that her neurological signs are not great at this point and have informed us the next 24-48 hours are going to be critical for her.”

The post asked for prayers and “a healing miracle and a full recovery.”

But some time later, publisher Ben Domenech tweeted, “Bre has passed.”

“We are devastated. Last we saw her, she was her funny, smart, vivacious self. Now lost to us so suddenly,” he wrote.

Payton this week was guest-hosting a show on the One America News Network, and she tweeted Dec. 27 asking her Twitter fans to tune in that night.

The Federalist on Dec. 28 remembered her as a person who “brightened the lives of everyone around her.”

“She was joyful, hard-working, and compassionate, and she leaves behind friends and colleagues for whom she brought nothing but sweetness and light,” the post added.

“Though we are heartbroken and devastated by Bre’s death, we are comforted in the knowledge that she was a woman who lived a life marked by deep Christian faith,” it added.

She’s survived by parents George and Cindy, her four siblings, and her boyfriend. The family is asking for prayers and privacy at this time, the Federalist said.

“I cannot believe this. @Bre_payton was such a beautiful light, smart and funny and kind and talented,” Fox News reporter Shannon Bream tweeted. “Please pray for her broken hearted loved ones, who are undoubtedly reeling. She was far too young.”

Payton recently appeared as a guest on Fox’s “Your World with Neil Cavuto” and “Trish Regan Primetime.” She was also on “Fox & Friends” and “Fox News @ Night.”

H1N1?

According to Medline Plus, H1N1 is commonly known as “swine flu,” saying that “people do not normally get swine flu, but human infections can and do happen.”

“In 2009 a strain of swine flu called H1N1 infected many people around the world,” the website added. “The virus is contagious and can spread from human to human. Symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that bacterial meningitis can kill a person in a “few hours.”

“Most people recover from meningitis. However, permanent disabilities (such as brain damage, hearing loss, and learning disabilities) can result from the infection,” the CDC website says.