U of I student Ashley Walls dies of bacterial meningitis in Brazil
Thursday, June 26, 2014
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WLS) --
A University of Illinois graduate student who died after contracting bacterial meningitis while studying in Brazil was remembered Thursday as a woman determined to change the world.
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Relatives say Ashley was on a Brazilian island, working on her Ph. D when she contracted bacterial meningitis. Her parents rushed to the country. Her father, Dock Walls, talked to Eyewitness News from Brazil.
"Exceptional human being. She was kind, and loving, gave of herself unselfishly. I've always remarked that Ashley was the hardest working person I ever met," said Dock Walls.
Dock Walls says doctors in Florianopolis tried to stabilize Ashley before taking her up the coast to a better hospital in Sao Paulo, 480 miles away. She never made it, and died Monday...
