Nine-year-old girl dies after collapsing during recess on first day of school

A nine-year-old girl has died after collapsing during recess on the first day of school.

Lucy Nash died in the hospital, her devastated father revealed in a heartfelt note, days after the tragic incident in Henderson, Kentucky.

The fourth-grader collapsed on her first day back at Cairo Elementary School last week and suffered a 'cardiac event,' according to a fundraising page.

The girl's father said that doctors had declared her brain dead in the hospital.

'Luciana Laine Nash, sister, lover, catcher, reader, cartwheeler, naturalist, singer, LEGO master builder, child of god, and friend of anyone, passed to the next place where hopefully Christ met her and experienced a hug that truly changes lives,' Ryan Nash wrote. 

'We got 9 years, 56 days of abundant, joyous, carefree and compassionate life together. And despite the unexplainable agony, I'm glad for every hour.'

It is unclear what caused Lucy to collapse. 

On the fundraising page, relatives said that the girl 'went many minutes without oxygen while they were trying to save her life.'

'Little Lucy is a bright light in a sometimes grim world, she makes us all laugh, and warms so many souls with her love and huge heart,' the note stated.