Eva Harris, a six-year-old from Rocky River, died from ADEM, a neurological condition that causes brain damage. (Cleveland Clinic)
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Eva Harris, a Rocky River 6-year-old who the community rallied around after she was hospitalized Feb. 7, has died.
Eva, a Goldwood Primary school student, was brought into the Cleveland Clinic with a fever of 105 degrees. She died of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, or ADEM, a neurological disease she developed after a viral infection, according to a statement from Eva’s parents released by the Clinic.
ADEM is swelling of the the spinal cord and the brain, and is thought to be an autoimmune condition where the immune system’s response causes brain damage. ADEM is thought to affect 1 in every 125,000 to 250,000 individuals in a given year and is more likely to affect children than adults, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Eva’s parents, Jimsey Cary and Alex Harris, in the statement expressed thanks for the outpouring of support for her.
“We are deeply saddened to share that Eva has passed away,” her parents wrote in the statement. “As her family, we wish to request privacy as we remember and celebrate her amazing life.”
Posts updating the Rocky River community on Eva’s health in a closed Facebook group received hundreds of comments with prayers and well-wishes. Many homes left their porch lights for her overnight.
The death was reported to the Cuyahoga County Department of Health and it came following a diagnosis of Influenza B, an official said Wednesday. Influenza B and A are the two strains of the flu that cause seasonal disease each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It’s the first pediatric flu-related death in the county this year, and the third in the state, the official said.
ADEM does not appear to be caused by any single infectious agent, according to the statement.
In a letter sent home with students Friday, Rocky River Superintendent Michael Shoaf wrote that grief counseling services will be made available to students, and the school principal and counselor will visit all preschool through fifth-grade classrooms Monday.
Cleveland television station WOIO (Channel 19) incorrectly reported Thursday that Eva had died, drawing a sharp response from the family on Facebook. The family chose to share word of her death Friday in its own social media posting and in the statement released by the hospital.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
