Ashlee Dahlberg never expected that a simple headache would be the last warning sign. Her son Liam, a happy, healthy 8-year-old from Indiana, came home from school one April afternoon complaining that his head hurt. By the next morning, he was fighting for his life in a hospital bed.
Within 24 hours, Liam was gone.
Doctors diagnosed Liam with Haemophilus influenzae type b, or Hib — a rare but extremely dangerous bacterial infection that can swiftly attack the brain and spinal cord. Though most children are vaccinated against it, the disease can still strike under the right, or rather, wrong conditions.
“Anybody that contracts it usually dies within 24 hours,” Ashlee told 13WMAZ through tears. Her son’s symptoms had seemed so minor at first. But by morning, he was lethargic and unresponsive. Alarmed, she rushed him to the hospital. The diagnosis that followed was both unexpected and irreversible.
An MRI revealed the unthinkable: the infection had already spread, covering Liam’s brain and spinal cord. “At that point in time,” Ashlee recalled, “there was nothing they could do.”
Liam passed away less than a day after his first symptoms.
“I would never wish this kind of pain on my worst enemy,” she said. “To sit there and listen to the doctors say, ‘You did everything right, there’s just nothing we could do,’ and to lay there with him as they took him off life support … there are no words.”
Hib is caused by bacteria, not a virus, and spreads through respiratory droplets. It can live unnoticed in the noses and throats of healthy individuals — but when it finds its way into the bloodstream, it can become “invasive,” reaching and infecting parts of the body that are typically sterile, like the brain, heart, and lungs.
Dr. Eric Yancy, a pediatrician based in Indianapolis, said the disease was once widespread and often fatal before the Hib vaccine was introduced in the U.S. in the mid-1980s. “If it didn’t kill children quickly, it left many with significant, lasting complications,” he said.
Since then, cases have plummeted by more than 99%. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fewer than 50 cases were reported in the U.S. in 2024. Before widespread vaccination, Hib infected about 20,000 children under age 5 every year and killed around 1,000.
Liam had been vaccinated. But that, experts say, doesn’t make someone completely immune. Dr. Yancy explained that Liam may have contracted the infection from an unvaccinated individual. “Herd immunity only works when everyone participates,” he noted.
The Cleveland Clinic explains that those with weakened immune systems, or who are already battling viral infections, are more vulnerable to Hib becoming invasive. The fact that Liam’s symptoms progressed so rapidly stunned even the medical staff who treated him.
Ashlee now finds herself living a nightmare she never imagined — and she’s using her grief to urge other parents to act. “I feel like I failed my child because I couldn’t protect him from everything that would cause harm,” she said. “But if there’s one thing I can do now, it’s to raise awareness.”
She’s asking parents to ensure their children’s vaccinations are up to date — not only for their safety, but for the safety of others. “You never know who’s at risk,” she said. “Liam was vaccinated, and still, he didn’t make it.”
A GoFundMe set up in Liam’s memory shows images of a bright-eyed boy whose life was cut tragically short. The photos, now shared through tears, reflect not only who Liam was — lively, kind, and full of promise — but also what was lost in a single day.
Liam’s death is a stark reminder that even the rarest diseases still exist — and when they strike, they don’t give second chances.
In his memory, Ashlee hopes to build something that saves others. “No other parent should have to hold their child as they slip away from something so silent and sudden,” she said.
