Parents find son’s ‘goodbye’ note after his death

After the tragic death of local first grader Leland Shoemake, the Pike County community is pulling together to show support for the family with a Friday, October 9 event planned at the pre-K building from 4 to 8 p.m. Leland passed away after battling balamuthia mandrillaris for several weeks – undergoing dozens of tests and procedures during his stay in the hospital.

She posted the note on the Facebook page for 6-year-old Leland Shoemake, Prayers for Leland.

The little boy contracted balamuthia mandrillaris, an amoebic infection, likely doing “the one thing he loved most” – playing in the dirt, his mom said.

“I was over protective of Leland and tried my best to keep him safe”, she wrote.

‘He was my world.

In the post, his mother shared her pain at losing her young son. We struggled so hard to have him.

She went on to recall that Leland was a fighter, that he was born premature but “came out screaming and healthy” and that he was smart, even as a baby – he knew his ABCs, colors, and numbers before his first birthday. He was just six years old at the time. He was our little nerd and we loved that about him. He was ideal. His favorite movie was jaws.

She added that his favorite movie was Jaws, favorite director was Steven Spielberg and favorite actor was Adam Sandler. And his favorite actor was Adam Sandler.

School friends, teammates, family and community members gathered at the track to hear from Marc Pritchett and pray for Leland and his family. He was the life of every party.

“His smile could light up a city”. They had no idea when he wrote it or how it got there, but it will certainly serve as a reminder that he would never be too far from those he loved most.

“My whole life this has been my only fear and it came true”.