Playboy Model Saw Chiropractor for Neck Pain Prior to Deadly Stroke but Not Medical Doctor, Family Says

Playboy model Katie May, who passed away Thursday night at age 34, most likely had not gone to a doctor for her neck pain prior to her deadly stroke, her brother tells PEOPLE.

“To the best of my family’s knowledge, and we are fairly but not totally certain of this, Katie did not seek medical care prior to Monday evening; if she had, it seems reasonable to conclude, the subsequent days would have unfolded very differently,” her brother, Stephen May, says.

Katie, known as the “Queen of Snapchat,” tweeted on Jan. 29 that she had “Pinched a nerve in my neck on a Photoshoot and got adjusted this morning.” She later added on Sunday that she was returning to the chiropractor.

Stephen did not know how she pinched a nerve.

“I don’t know the cause of Katie’s neck pain,” he tells PEOPLE. “We only knew that she was feeling discomfort.”

“The cause of the injury leading to Katie’s stroke is unclear, though it would seem to relate directly or indirectly to the neck pain,” he says.

Stephen expressed his deep sadness over her loss.

“Katie was a star in every sense of the word and I’ll never stop missing her,” he says.

Katie is survived by her 7-year-old daughter, Mia. There is a GoFundMe page open for donations to help pay for Mia’s education.