(Fort Worth, Tx) – A 10 year old Whitney girl is in Cook Children’s Hospital fighting for her life after falling ill following a swim in the Brazos River.

Doctors say the girl known as Lily Mae has contracted a rare brain eating freshwater amoeba.  According to the Facebook page, #Lilystrong, Lily Mae Avant came down with a headache and fever after swimming in the Brazos River on Sunday.  A post on the page says her health quickly deteriorated and she was transferred from a local hospital to Fort Worth.

TV station KWTX in Waco reports the Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed Thursday that Lily Mae had contracted an amoeba meningitis that causes a brain infection and that this type of amoeba is found in ponds, lakes and rivers.