Little Leland Shoemake, from Atlanta, GA, passed away on September 25 after fighting a rare infection called Balamuthia mandrillaris for a month. But after his parents finally went home to get little Leland some burial clothes, they found an unexpected surprise from him. They found this note:
According to Leland’s mother, Amber Shoemaker, on the Facebook page Prayers for Leland, some in the media have misread the note that Leland left behind, so she took to the page to set the record straight with this post:
While the six-year-old put up a brave fight, the infection was just too much. In regards to the infection, the New York Daily News reported:
“The little boy contracted Balamuthia mandrillaris, an amoebic infection, likely doing “the one thing he loved most”—playing in the dirt, his mom said. “I was over protective of Leland and tried my best to keep him safe…I never imagined that would be the thing that would take him from me”.
I don’t think any parents would expect anything like this happening to their child. Parents have to let kids be kids. I’m sure playing in the dirt was the least of their worries, especially in the world we live in today.
While the Prayers for Leland page has received support and words of comfort to Leland’s parents from all over the world, I’m sure no words could ease the grief that these parents feel. At the time of this writing, this was the last post on the Facebook page:
Rest in Peace Leland.
Featured image by Prayers for Leland available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license.
