When Dan Schalck took his 13-year-old daughter, Lilliana, to an All-Star game in February, he anticipated seeing her fly above the competition. He never expected it to be the last.
Before she could even take the stage, Lilliana fell ill and it got worse from there.
Lilliana, an eighth grade student, was warming up with her squad when she complained that she was not feeling well. His hands began to feel numb and his feet began to tremble. Previously, she mentioned that her hamstring had been bothering her, and Schalck took her to the doctor where an x-ray indicated that she was fine.
His coach commented: “It’s a bit out of place, things are definitely not right,” his father said to KWCH.
Schalck initially thought his daughter was dehydrated, but after a quick assessment at the scene, it was determined that Lilliana needed to go to the emergency room.
“Very quickly in the emergency room, things just degraded,” ABC News said in February. “The liaison nurse put me aside and asked me who would be important in her life whom I would like to call.”
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Lilliana’s heart stopped twice in the emergency room and four times in total.
“In the ICU, they were with her, and at some point I was able to get close to her, take her hand,” she said. “At that time they could not do it anymore.”
“We went from waiting for her to act at 5:50 PM to take her hand and announced that it had happened at 7:40 PM, the only thing I can say is:” What the hell just happened? What happened? How can this be? “He’s gone,” told KWCH.
At that time the doctors were not sure what caused Lilliana’s sudden death. It was not until two months later, when her autopsy report was published, that Lilliana’s family knew why the teenager died.
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“Apparently, an underlying streptococcal infection overwhelmed his immune system with little or no warning and catastrophic results,” the family said in a statement.
According to ABC News, the coroner discovered that Lilliana had an infection caused by group A streptococcus (GAS), which is the same bacteria that causes strep throat.
After his death, Lilliana’s family was surrounded by a “flow of support from the entire community.”
Her high school, the high school where she cheered and her cheerleader family expressed their condolences and kept vigils in her memory.
KWCH reported that Lilliana would be buried in her cheerleader uniform.
Pass this story to remember this promising and young talent. Lilliana will never be forgotten.
