10-Year-Old Infected by Amoeba During Swim Dies

Lily Mae Avant, a 10-year-old Texas girl who contracted Naegleria fowleri, has died. She has been fighting the brain-eating amoeba in a Fort Worth children's hospital since swimming over Labor Day weekend in the Brazos River and Lake Whitney near Waco. Lily's school announced the fifth grader's death in a Facebook post on Monday, CNN reports. "She was an outstanding student, but more importantly, Lily was an incredible person and friend to all," the post said. Her family, which received expressions of support from around the world, expressed gratitude in a statement. "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," the statement said, per KWTX. (More brain-eating amoeba stories.)