Boy, 8, Contracts Rare Bacterial Illness, Dies 16 Hours Later: ‘I Could Feel His Little Heartbeat Fade Away’

An 8-year-old Indiana boy died of a uncommon bacterial infection aft he apt caught it from an unvaccinated child, according to doctors.

“This is not your emblematic mundane flu,” Ashlee Dahlberg said successful an question and reply pinch WHTR, wherever she shared really invasive Haemophilus influenzae, besides known arsenic "H. flu,” aliases “Hib” killed her boy wrong hours.

Liam Dahlberg came location from schoolhouse successful April pinch a headache. The adjacent morning, nan family rushed the hardly responsive kid to nan hospital. An MRI revealed nan unthinkable: “They discovered nan magnitude of germs that was covering his encephalon and his spinal cord,” his mother told nan outlet. “At that constituent successful time, that's erstwhile location was location was thing they could do.”

Haemophilus influenzae causes a type of bacterial infection, nan Cleveland Clinic explains, that contempt its name, is unrelated to nan flu. A mild infection causes bronchitis; much terrible outcomes see septic arthritis, septicemia — and arsenic was nan lawsuit pinch Liam, meningitis (infection successful nan encephalon and spinal cord).

She shared a video of her boy writhing successful symptom and moaning successful nan hospital, telling nan outlet, “I would ne'er wish this benignant of symptom connected my worst force ever. To person sat location and listened to nan expert opportunity you did everything right, but location was conscionable thing we could do, and past to laic location pinch him arsenic they took him disconnected life support. And I could consciousness his small heartbeat conscionable slice away.”

Pediatrician Dr. Eric Yancy told WHTR that nan illness was “absolutely devastating” earlier nan vaccine was available. He said it was apt Liam caught Hib from personification unvaccinated — perchance a child, arsenic vaccination rates person fallen.

As nan Children’s Hospital of Pennsylanvia (CHOP) explains, earlier nan Hib vaccine was introduced successful 1985, astir 20,000 children successful nan United States would create serious, sometimes fatal infections. “Most children harmed by Hib were antecedently patient and good nourished,” CHOP says, adding that children who retrieve from a Hib infection whitethorn beryllium near paralyzed, deaf, blind, aliases mentally impaired.

It's dispersed done respiratory droplets, the Cleveland Clinic explains, and tin beryllium contagious moreover if nan personification infected doesn't grounds symptoms.

“Liam was a agleam and smart young boy, afloat of life and potential. His beingness brought joyousness and warmth to everyone he met,” his family wrote successful a GoFundMe established to thief salary their unexpected aesculapian costs.

“There’s nary words that tin picture that pain,” Dahlberg told WHTR. “I consciousness I person grounded my kid because I could not protect him from everything that would origin harm.”

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