Tragic death of a 2-year-old from a tick bite

Tragic death of 2 yr. old in Middleburg, VA  from tick-bite transmitting Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever....  

Posted: Friday, August 8, 2014 6:45 am

By Dulcy Hooper For Middleburg Life | 0 comments

It's no easy task to deal with a devastating personal loss--the death of a beautiful, healthy young child--and use it to help others avoid the same tragedy, but Brenda Klepper of Berryville is doing just that.

Less than three months ago, Amberlynn Cross, Klepper's great granddaughter, was playing outside at the home of friends of her parents, Emily and Michael Cross, also of Berryville. She was just a few days shy of her second birthday.

"Amberlynn loved to play in the dandelions and try to blow them," Klepper said. "But then she would become frustrated and end up wildly shaking them in her hands so that the seeds would blow. She was playing in the dandelions the day she got bit by the tick."

Her parents found the tick later in the day and removed it. Five days later, on May 15, Amberlynn had developed a rash and a 105-degree fever and was taken to her pediatrician. Although the physician was informed about the rash and the tick, he diagnosed Amberlynn with a viral illness and advised her parents to take her home and keep an eye on her temperature.

Read the full story here:

http://www.leesburgtoday.com/more_a/middleburg_life/tragedy-is-a-call-to-action-for-grieving-great-grandmother/article_9bf8924a-1e76-11e4-980e-001a4bcf887a.html