Jessica Elkins was a healthy, fifteen-year old living in
Athens, Alabama in November of 2007. She was a JV
cheerleader and loved spending time with her friends
and family. On December 21, after taking her final
math exam, Jessica appeared fine. Right after lunch
she began feeling sick and was taken to the local
doctor. They diagnosed her with the flu and sent her
home. The next day, her mother saw that she had tiny
bruises all over her body. They rushed her to Decatur
General Hospital where she was diagnosed with meningitis
and then was medflighted to Birmingham
Children’s Hospital. The doctor was very honest
and told us that many children die from this, but
because we got her there so fast she had a better
chance. While there her stats would improve
and then drastically fall. On December 26th,
the nursed checked her eyes and ran to get the
doctor. Her brain was dead. Jessica passed
away on December 26, 2007. PLEASE get
your child vaccinated. No parent or family
wants to go through a tragedy like this.