8-year-old American Fork girl's death linked to E. coli infection


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AMERICAN FORK — A family in American Fork is receiving an outpouring of support after an 8-year-old girl became sick last week, was rushed to a hospital but died five days later.

Brian and Melissa Jolley never imagined they would be making funeral plans for their daughter, Hannah.

"She always wanted to play with her friends, loved playing with friends," Melissa Jolley said.

Hannah made friends easily and also loved dogs. If one walked by, she wanted to pet it.

"Up until the time she started getting sick, she was a little ball of energy, running all over the place, climbing in every tree she possibly could," Brian Jolley said.

On the morning of July 14, she started showing symptoms typical of the flu. But her condition quickly deteriorated.

"Come Thursday night she had a really, really hard night. And Friday morning we could tell she was in a lot of pain," Brian Jolley said.

Doctors at Utah Valley Hospital quickly diagnosed her with E. coli. She was later flown to Primary Children's Hospital. Last Monday she had a seizure, and doctors determined Hannah had hemolytic uremic syndrome, a disease that destroys red blood cells.

About HUS
  • Caused by abnormal destruction of red blood cells.
  • Damaged red blood cells clog the filtering system in the kidneys, which can lead to life-threatening kidney failure.
  • Usually develops in children after five to 10 days of diarrhea caused by infection with certain strains of E. coli bacteria.
Source:Mayo Clinic.

The most common cause of HUS, particularly in children, is E. coli infection.

"We have no idea how she got the E. coli. At this point it's not important," Brian Jolley said. "We want answers someday. Of course, we want to know where it came from."

Hannah died Tuesday night, and since then the show of support from the community has been non-stop. Hand-made decorations, chalk art and ribbons decorate the Jolleys' home in American Fork. Complete strangers have phoned and emailed the family to offer support.

The Jolleys are extremely grateful to the medical staffs at Utah Valley and Primary Children's who treated their daughter.

"The days will be hard without her little smile running through the house and making messes all around with her crafts and things. But we'll be able to feel her spirit in our home, I know," Melissa Jolley said.

E. coli can be found in under cooked or contaminated meats and produce. However, Hannah's parents don't believe that played a role in this case.

Hannah's funeral will take place next Tuesday in American Fork.

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Keith McCord

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