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Best friend: 'She would stand out in a crowd'

Friends pour out their memories of a popular high school senior who died mysteriously of viral encephalitis.

By JAMAL THALJI
Published October 29, 2005

DADE CITY - Within minutes Friday, the white cross was covered with flowers and candles and notes. At the base sat a Florida State University flag, pompoms and a Bible. Dozens huddled around the cross, around parking spot No. 26. Some cried. Others were silent. All were stunned.

Jacqui Urbuteit was leaning on Jenna Dawson when she started singing. Soon, they all were.

It was Amazing Grace.

Pasco High School senior Jamie Endress died Thursday night in a Tampa hospital after days spent battling viral encephalitis.

Endress' sudden death is not an indicator of a public health hazard, said Dr. Marc Yacht, medical director of the Pasco County Health Department.

She didn't die from a mosquito-borne encephalitis, Yacht said. Nor is her death linked to the mosquito-borne Eastern equine encephalitis that killed a 18-month-old Land O'Lakes girl Sept. 6.

"A bunch of tests have been done on this child, this teen, and to my knowledge we really don't know specifically what caused this encephalitis," he said, "other than that it doesn't appear to present a risk to other populations in the community."

The death of the popular 17-year-old from a rare disease devastated not only family and friends, but left an entire school and community in mourning.

Principal Pat Reedy watched the organized outpouring of grief around her parking spot Friday.

"Jamie had that impact on everybody," he said. "Their efforts are a reflection of Jamie. So I'm a little bit surprised but at the same time not surprised when you stop and think about it."

Her family could not be reached for comment.

Endress had a 103-degree fever and was suffering from what was thought to be the flu, friends say. Then Monday before school her grandmother found her on the floor. An ambulance was summoned.

The teen was rushed to Pasco Regional Medical Center, then flown to Tampa General Hospital. She had many visitors, friends say, though she remained in a coma as her condition deteriorated.

Spinal meningitis was ruled out. Endress was put in a medically induced coma, and though she was breathing on her own, she was put on a ventilator to conserve her strength.

"She fought for a really long time," Dawson said. "She's always been so determined."

Students organized a Thursday night prayer service in a room at First Baptist Church. It was so crowded with staff and students, friends said, they had to move the service to the main sanctuary. The service had just ended, the principal said, when a pastor broke the news: Endress had died at 7:03 p.m.

The next day the Urbuteit sisters - Jacqui, 17, and Kacee, 16 - asked stepdad Donnie Shive to build the cross for Endress. It went up at 12:30 p.m.

"Her energy level is enormous, her spirit is contagious," said Dawson, 17, best friends with Endress for 15 years. "She is so happy all the time. There is no one she doesn't like. She would stand out in a crowd. You would not forget her."

Endress was on the student council and the school newspaper staff. She took honors and advanced placement classes, and courses at Pasco-Hernando Community College. Florida State was her destination. An athlete, she spent three years as a cheerleader but decided to swim this year in the 200 and 500 meters.

But softball was her thing. She played second base for the Pirates and was instrumental in last season's playoff run after the team lost seven of eight.

"That was just a fluke," Endress told the St. Petersburg Times in May. "We're strong as a team."

The future excited Endress; being a senior, being captain of the softball team, reaching the state softball finals, and then graduating.

"We've been talking about that for a while, our senior year of high school," said Robbie Shields, 18. "It's the greatest thing in the world, you know?"

Facts about viral encephalitis

Encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain tissue, is rare, affecting about 1 in 200,000 people each year in the United States.

Viral encephalitis may develop during or after infection with any of several viral illnesses including the flu, cold sores, measles, mumps, rubella, rabies, chickenpox and arbovirus infection including West Nile virus. Jamie Endress' illness was not caused by mosquitoes and is not a public health threat, according to the Pasco County Health Department.

Symptoms of encephalitis are: fever, drowsiness, lethargy and possibly coma, headaches, personality changes, irritability or emotional outbursts, confusion, weakness in one or more areas of the body, seizures, bulging soft spots in infants.

Treatment requires hospitalization. Many people who have encephalitis fully recover. The most appropriate treatment and the patient's chance of recovery depend on the virus involved and the severity of the inflammation.

Sources: WebMD.com, the Mayo Clinic, Nemours Foundation.

[Last modified October 29, 2005, 01:45:21]