14-year-old Hilton Head Middle School student died of rare disease, coroner said
A 14-year-old Hilton Head Island Hilton Head Island girl who died in May was determined to have had a rare neurological disease, according to Beaufort County Chief Deputy Coroner David Ott.
Presley Miller died May 21. An autopsy listed the cause of death as Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis, or ADEM, Ott said this week.
ADEM is “widespread inflammation of the brain and spinal cord” that damages nerve fibers, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders.
The autopsy was performed at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston and required eight weeks of tests to determine the cause of death, Ott said.
Presley was stung by a stingray on May 4 while swimming at an island beach. Ott said the sting cannot be linked to the girl’s death but also cannot be ruled out.
“We are not saying that is the cause of it, but we’re not ruling it out. We don’t know exactly where it (ADEM) came from,” he said. “It’s a very unusual disease.”
The exact cause of ADEM is unknown, but “most clinical investigators agree that the disorder is most likely the result of an abnormal immune system response to an infection or other trigger,” according to NORD.
Presley was an eighth grader at Hilton Head Island Middle School, Beaufort County School District spokesperson Jim Foster confirmed in May.
Several public tributes to her were posted online by her classmates.
“Presley was liked by everyone. She was pretty, kind, and very funny. I miss her so much already, this is so hard,” posted one student. “We have so many memories with her from school I so wish we could’ve gone to high school together.”
“I’ll miss you so much Presley Miller.”
This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 6:14 PM.
