South Carolina is grieving the sudden and tragic loss of 14‑year‑old William 'Will' Hand—an eighth-standard student and an athlete—who died in early June of rare bacterial infection known as meningococcemia, also called meningococcal septicemia.
Reports said Will felt unwell 8 June complaining of a severe headache and fever, before his condition rapidly deteriorated. Within hours, he started vomiting, had a high temperature, and a striking non-blanching petechial rash with a tell tale sign of blood vessel damage under the skin.
