April 29, 2019 at 07:52AM
Heartbroken family reveal Kentucky 13-year-old girl died from STREP infection just two hours after she began noticing symptoms at a cheerleading competition
- Middle school student Lilliana Schalck, 13, fell ill and died on February 23
- The gifted cheerleader complained of tingling feet and numbness in her hands just two hours before she passed away
- A coroner's report has now revealed that she died from a strep infection
- Her devastated family are speaking publicly about the cause of death in the hopes that it will prevent similar outcomes for others
Autopsy results have revealed that the Kentucky teen who suddenly fell ill and died in February was killed by a strep infection.
The family of Lilliana Schalck, 13, revealed the devastating cause of death on Friday, in the hopes that going public 'might help prevent a similar outcome for someone else'.
Schalck was ten minutes away from performing at a cheerleading competition in Ohio on February 23, when she began complaining of weakness and tingling in her feet.
Just two hours later, the eighth-grader from Fort Thomas, Kentucky, was pronounced dead after being rushed to hospital.
In a statement shared with ABC, her family wrote: 'An underlying Strep infection overwhelmed her immune system with little or no warning, and catastrophic results.
'We wouldn't wish this nightmare on anyone.'

Two months after her death, an autopsy has revealed Lilliana Schalk was killed by a serious strep infection
An autopsy report showed Lilliana had a widespread infection due to group A Streptococcus (GAS).
GAS is the same bacteria that, in minor cases, can causes strep throat. However, Schalck's case was was much more severe.
Despite now knowing what killed the beloved teen, Schalk's family say the answers have not lessened their pain.
'We are forever heartbroken and appreciate the respect we have been given so far, and ask that to continue as we focus on her life and legacy, as well as our life without her — however unwelcome it is'.

Sschalk was a happy and healthy eighth-grader in Fort Thomas before the strep infection suddenly took her life

Schalk's devastated father spoke st ABC and wondered whether there was anything he could have done to prevent her passing
Shortly after Schalk's death, her confused father Dan told ABC that he was 'just kept going over the sequence of events of the whole day... trying to see if there was something that I missed,'.
He sad his first thought was that his daughter was dehydrated, so he took her aside and gave her some fluids, but she was getting weaker and not acting like her normal self.
Medics at the cheerleading venue rushed the girl to the emergency room at the children's hospital, where she died shortly after.
Lilliana, who dreamed of cheerleading on the college level and eventually becoming an elementary school teacher, was laid to rest in her blue school uniform last month.


Schalk was set to compete in a cheerleading competition when the strep infection took hold

The beloved student-athlete was an eighth-grader at a Fort Thomas school in Kentucky
Heartbroken family reveal Kentucky 13-year-old girl died from STREP infection just two hours after she began noticing symptoms at a cheerleading competition
- Middle school student Lilliana Schalck, 13, fell ill and died on February 23
- The gifted cheerleader complained of tingling feet and numbness in her hands just two hours before she passed away
- A coroner's report has now revealed that she died from a strep infection
- Her devastated family are speaking publicly about the cause of death in the hopes that it will prevent similar outcomes for others
Autopsy results have revealed that the Kentucky teen who suddenly fell ill and died in February was killed by a strep infection.
The family of Lilliana Schalck, 13, revealed the devastating cause of death on Friday, in the hopes that going public 'might help prevent a similar outcome for someone else'.
Schalck was ten minutes away from performing at a cheerleading competition in Ohio on February 23, when she began complaining of weakness and tingling in her feet.
Just two hours later, the eighth-grader from Fort Thomas, Kentucky, was pronounced dead after being rushed to hospital.
In a statement shared with ABC, her family wrote: 'An underlying Strep infection overwhelmed her immune system with little or no warning, and catastrophic results.
'We wouldn't wish this nightmare on anyone.'

Two months after her death, an autopsy has revealed Lilliana Schalk was killed by a serious strep infection
An autopsy report showed Lilliana had a widespread infection due to group A Streptococcus (GAS).
GAS is the same bacteria that, in minor cases, can causes strep throat. However, Schalck's case was was much more severe.
Despite now knowing what killed the beloved teen, Schalk's family say the answers have not lessened their pain.
'We are forever heartbroken and appreciate the respect we have been given so far, and ask that to continue as we focus on her life and legacy, as well as our life without her — however unwelcome it is'.

Sschalk was a happy and healthy eighth-grader in Fort Thomas before the strep infection suddenly took her life

Schalk's devastated father spoke st ABC and wondered whether there was anything he could have done to prevent her passing
Shortly after Schalk's death, her confused father Dan told ABC that he was 'just kept going over the sequence of events of the whole day... trying to see if there was something that I missed,'.
He sad his first thought was that his daughter was dehydrated, so he took her aside and gave her some fluids, but she was getting weaker and not acting like her normal self.
Medics at the cheerleading venue rushed the girl to the emergency room at the children's hospital, where she died shortly after.
Lilliana, who dreamed of cheerleading on the college level and eventually becoming an elementary school teacher, was laid to rest in her blue school uniform last month.


Schalk was set to compete in a cheerleading competition when the strep infection took hold

The beloved student-athlete was an eighth-grader at a Fort Thomas school in Kentucky