An 8-year-old girl identified by her family as Lillian has died after developing a rare brain infection linked to the “brain-eating” amoeba Naegleria fowleri after swimming in a northern Louisiana lake.
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Lillian died on Saturday at a hospital in Ruston, Louisiana, according to her family. Her death came just one day after she celebrated her eighth birthday.
Her family announced the heartbreaking news in a statement shared on social media.
They wrote:
“Last night Lillian ran from our arms to the arms of Jesus.
The injuries to her brain were too severe for her little body to recover from. Everyone did everything they could to keep her here. We are heartbroken and honestly do not know what to do next. How do we put one foot in front of the other without our girl?
Our foundation is still in Jesus. We didn’t get to keep our girl but we watched miracles happen on her behalf. We believe God is good. He will give us strength when we have none left. He’s given us a community of support that I don’t think can be found anywhere else in the world. Lil would have loved seeing everyone come together and she would have been right in the middle of it trying to help where she could.
We are devastated. We know you are too. Pray for our boys. They are going to need it so much. Pray for our friends and family, they are so sad and somehow still showing up for us. Pray for us, we won’t be able to do this without it.
We are so grateful to you for loving our girl.”
The Louisiana Department of Health announced on Wednesday that a state resident had been hospitalized after contracting Naegleria fowleri, a microscopic amoeba that can cause a rare and often fatal infection of the brain.
Lillian’s family later said that she had been receiving treatment in the pediatric intensive care unit at a Ruston hospital and identified Naegleria fowleri as the cause of her illness.
Health officials said the infection was most likely acquired while the patient was swimming in Lake Claiborne shortly before becoming sick.
Naegleria fowleri is commonly known as a “brain-eating amoeba.” It can enter the body through the nose when a person swims or dives in contaminated warm freshwater and can cause a severe infection of the brain.
Lillian’s family said doctors and medical workers did everything possible to save her, but the damage to her brain became too severe for her to recover.