10-Year-Old Texan Girl Dead From Brain-Eating Amoeba After Swimming In Lake

Some tragedies are just too heart-rending to speak of in any way except with the utmost of respect. So who is Lily Mae Avant, and how did she die?

Let's look at what we know about this unfortunate tragedy. 

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1. She was swimming in a river over Labor Day weekend. 

According to CNN, Lily Mae Avant was doing what every other 10-year-old girl does on Labor Day weekend: she went swimming in the Brazos River near Waco, TX. The outlet reports that this is where the trouble began for the poor child. 

2. Lily Mae Avant contracted a rare amoeba. 

"Her family said she contracted Naegleria fowleri amoeba, a single-celled organism also known as "brain-eating" amoeba. It is commonly found in fresh water bodies such as ponds, lakes and rivers and in soil," reports NBC News, via the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The outlet reports that about a week after she went swimming in the lake, she contracted a very high fever.

3. Her family rushed her to the hospital, but the amoeba began eating her brain tissue.

According to Insider, when Lily Mae Avant contracted the fever, her family rushed her to the hospital. However, it was discovered the amoeba began eating her brain tissue. 

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4. Like nearly all the people who contract this amoeba, Lily Mae Avant didn't survive. 

"People get infected when water containing Naegleria fowleri enters through the nose. The amoeba travels to the brain where it destroys brain tissue. The fatality rate when contracting such an amoeba is more than 97%, according to the CDC.  Since 1962, only four people out of 145 infected in the U.S. have survived," reported KCENT-TV. 

5. It's an amoeba that thrives in the South. 

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the amoeba thrives in hot water (water in temperatures up to 115 degrees). It's also most commonly found in lakes and rivers. As such, it grows heavily in America's Deep South, where the temperatures are higher and amoeba (and other bacteria) can thrive.

6. Lily Mae Avant's family appreciates the support. 

"Words can not begin to express how overwhelming this past week has been for our family. We have been flooded by your love and support and feel incredibly humbled by how many lives have been impacted by our sweet and sassy, Lily Mae. Our beautiful girl is completely healed and in the arms of Jesus,” her aunt, Wendy Scott, said to Fox News. 

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Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. For more information about Bernadette Giacomazzo, click here.