Latest news with #13WMAZ
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Boy, 8, complains of headache at school then events turn tragic in hours
Ashlee Dahlberg, from Indiana, US, says she felt her son Liam's 'heart fade away' after he suddenly contracted a bacterial infection. She shared the warning signs of the deadly illness A young boy who suffered a headache at school tragically died of a horror infection just hours after complaining about the symptom. Liam Dahlberg, 8, from Indiana, US, came home from class in April and felt unwell. But it wasn't until the following morning that his mum became concerned. His mother, Ashlee Dahlberg, raced him to hospital where she was told that "there's just nothing we could do", after delivering her a devastating diagnosis. Liam had picked up a bacterial infection called Haemophilus influenzae type b, also known as 'H. flu' or 'Hib.' Most children are vaccinated against the deadly illness as a baby, but it is still possible to become infected by it, warned doctors. His mother spoke to local media and said: 'Anybody that contracts it usually dies within 24 hours." Shocking test results from an MRI revealed that the infection had worsened, spreading to his brain and spinal cord. "Basically, at that point in time, there was nothing they could do,' his mum said. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the infection can travel through respiratory droplets and can stay dormant in healthy people, reports New York Post. However, anyone who experiences a low immune system, could see the infection enter the bloodstream - which later can spread to vital organs. Dr. Eric Yancy, a paediatrician in Indianapolis, stressed how quickly Hib can harm patients. 'If it didn't kill the children within a very short period of time, it left many of them with significant complications,' he told 13WMAZ. Despite Liam being vaccinated against the infection, he could have contracted it from someone who wasn't protected. The poor eight-year-old died less than 24 hours after enduring a headache. His mother revealed how she felt his "little heartbeat fade away" before his death. She added: "I would never wish this kind of pain on my worst enemy ever. It's hard. 'To have sat there and listened to the doctors say, 'You did everything right, there's just nothing we could do,' to lay there with him as they took him off life support, I can feel his little heartbeat fade away — there's no words that can describe that pain.'
New York Post
5 days ago
- Health
- New York Post
Indiana boy, 8, dies within hours of catching rare infection that spread to his brain and spine
An Indiana boy died hours after he complained of only mild symptoms that ended up being a rare and fatal bacterial infection, his grieving mother revealed. Liam Dahlberg, 8, came home from school complaining of a headache in April, but it wasn't until the following morning that his mom, Ashlee Dahlberg, realized something was wrong with her usually lively and upbeat son, she told 13WMAZ. She rushed Liam to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with the extremely deadly Haemophilus influenzae type b, also known as 'H. flu' or 'Hib.' 4 Liam Dahlberg, 8, died hours after he complained of only mild symptoms that ended up being a rare and fatal bacterial infection. GoFundMe Hib is a bacterial infection — not a virus — that most children are vaccinated against as babies, but even so, it's still possible to contract it, especially at younger and much older ages. 'Anybody that contracts it usually dies within 24 hours,' the heartbroken mother said. An MRI showed that the infection had spread and was covering the 8-year-old's brain and spinal cord. 'Basically, at that point in time, there was nothing they could do,' Dahlberg revealed. Liam died less than 24 hours after complaining of a headache. 'I would never wish this kind of pain on my worst enemy ever. It's hard,' Dahlberg cried as she painstakingly spoke about losing her son in the blink of an eye. 4 Doctors diagnosed Liam with the extremely deadly Haemophilus influenzae type b, also known as 'H. flu' or 'Hib.' 'To have sat there and listened to the doctors say, 'You did everything right, there's just nothing we could do,' to lay there with him as they took him off life support, I can feel his little heartbeat fade away — there's no words that can describe that pain.' Hib infections can be 'invasive,' or rather spread to parts of the body that are typically free from germs, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The infection is usually spread through respiratory droplets and can remain dormant in the noses and throats of healthy people. However, a weakened immune system or individuals already suffering from viral infections can allow Hib to enter the bloodstream, giving the bacteria a pathway to spread to the host's organs. 4 An MRI showed that the infection had spread and was covering the 8-year-old's brain and spinal cord. GoFundMe Dr. Eric Yancy, a pediatrician in Indianapolis familiar with the deadly bacterial infection, told 13WMAZ that up until vaccines for Hib were introduced in 1985, it was 'absolutely devastating.' 'If it didn't kill the children within a very short period of time, it left many of them with significant complications,' Yancy shared. Dahlberg said Liam was vaccinated against Hib, but Yancy explained that her son likely contracted it from a child who was unvaccinated against the bacterial infection — meaning more children could be at risk of exposure. 4 Liam died less than 24 hours after complaining of a headache. GoFundMe Before the vaccine was introduced for children and then for infants in 1990, 'about 20,000 children younger than 5 had a severe Hib disease each year, and about 1,000 died,' according to the Cleveland Clinic. Since then, Hib infection rates have dramatically dropped in the US by more than 99% since 1991. By 2019, 0.15 out of every 100,000 children younger than 5 years old had a Hib disease. In 2024, fewer than 50 cases were reported in the US, according to the CDC. However, Dahlberg is urging parents to ensure their children are vaccinated against Hib so that other families never have to experience the same loss. 'I feel like I have failed my child because I could not protect him from everything that would cause harm,' the grieving mother said.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Electricity Rates in Georgia Rose $516 Per Year on Average
Rising energy costs have become a major financial hurdle for Black Georgians in recent years, with power bills at times matching or exceeding what some in Georgia pay for their monthly rent or mortgage. Georgia Power customers like Jennifer Morton told Macon's 13WMAZ in July that her most-recent monthly power bill was $1,200. 'We went through a couple power outages, so for me, I couldn't figure out anything that would justify that,' Morton told the local news station. The Georgia Public Service Commission, which is responsible for regulating rate increases, has approved six Georgia Power rate hikes over the past two years. As a result, the average Georgia Power residential customer is paying $43 more per month, or $516 more per year, on their electric bill than they were two years ago, according to WABE. Capital B talked with Georgia Power, sustainability activists, and PSC commissioners to better understand this surge in prices. Shareholders from Georgia Power's parent company, Southern Co., enjoyed a 43% surge in profits in the second quarter of 2024. Southern – which maintains a virtual monopoly on electric services in much of the state – earned $4.4 billion in 2024, a $400 million increase from the previous year, according to an earnings report released in February. But Georgia Power has defended its recent rate hikes, saying its energy rates have averaged 15% below the national average since 1990. The company characterized its rate hikes as necessary for effective long-term energy planning and for strategic investments in its power grid. The company said these investments are 'one of the main reasons Georgia's economy continues to grow and thrive.' The company also said the largest rate hike over the past three years was put in place to recover the cost of fuel used to generate electricity after global fuel prices rose dramatically. 'Georgia Power understands energy is a key part of every customer's budget, which is why we work so hard to keep prices as affordable as possible,' the company said in an emailed statement. 'We will continue to work with the Georgia PSC to deliver the clean, safe, reliable, and affordable energy Georgia Power customers expect and deserve.' Georgia Power's leaders said their rate increases are helping pay for investments into the state's power grid so they can meet the demands of major companies expanding their business operations in the Peach State. Much of Georgia Power's infrastructure investment is linked to the opening of artificial intelligence-supporting data centers — buildings that typically contain thousands of computer servers. The data centers are owned by tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. The largest data centers need more than 100 megawatts of electricity to power their servers, enough to power an estimated 80,000 U.S. households, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. They also require water to keep them cool. Companies including Georgia Power are tasked with providing the energy and paying to build the infrastructure in the form of new power plants. Some tech companies have faced criticism for concentrating data center construction in Black communities, including many in metro Atlanta, which had the most data center capacity under construction in the nation last year, according to an Atlanta Regional Commission report released in November. Activists and elected leaders have expressed concern that the costs to power the data centers or build that infrastructure may be passed on to Georgia Power customers in the form of rate hikes. The company said that new power plants and inflation, not data centers, were driving the rate hikes. The PSC is a five-member elected body that manages electric, natural gas, and telecommunications services for most of the state. One of its most crucial responsibilities is deciding how much Georgia Power can charge an estimated 2.7 million customers, which includes most ratepayers in the Atlanta region. PSC commissioners ultimately determine how much of the cost to build new power plants and other aspects of infrastructure are put on the data center owners versus residential customers. The PSC has defended its approval of the recent rate hikes, which two commissioners said were litigated like court cases and negotiated at the lowest rate possible. At least one of the recent rate increases was mandated by the Georgia General Assembly, according to commissioner Fitz Johnson, who represents the Atlanta area. He blamed inflation for the rise in electricity costs. 'We don't have to tell you what inflation was like over the last three years,' Johnson told Capital B Atlanta during a recent phone interview. 'Everybody's price went up for everything. You can't expect the price of groceries to go up, the price of gas to go up, and then your electricity not to go up.' But critics of the rate hikes, including McCorkle, say the hikes are taking place because the PSC is doing the bidding of utility companies instead of what's best for their constituents. PSC commissioners have received campaign contributions from individuals employed as Georgia Power executives and from Georgia Power affiliated lobbyists and law firms. 'Commissioners are supposed to look out for the people of Georgia, not the power company's profits,' McCorkle said regarding current PSC commissioners. Georgia Power said the company itself 'does not donate to PSC Commissioners or candidates, nor does its Employee Political Action Committee. Georgia Power also does not endorse political candidates.' The post Why Electricity Rates in Georgia Rose $516 Per Year on Average appeared first on Capital B News - Atlanta.
