The family of a 4-year-old Tampa Bay area girl diagnosed with meningitis last month says the child has died.
Belinda Dangerfield says the family decided to take her daughter, Essence Winkfield, off life support on Sunday after realizing she wasn't going to make it.
Dangerfield said: ``We didn't want her to suffer anymore.''
Essence was a voluntary prekindergarten student at Manatee Elementary School in Bradenton. Her parents said she started feeling sick the first weekend of February. At first, they gave her ibuprofen for a fever but then took her to a hospital after she developed a rash and became lethargic.
Dangerfield told The Bradenton Herald she wishes she had acted sooner. She is urging other parents to take their children to a doctor or hospital at the first signs of an illness, even a cold.
Funeral services for Essence will be held in Saturday, March 7th at the Faith Temple Cogic Church in Palmetto at 11 a.m.
Donations to the family can be made via YouCaring.com.
