In 2016, Jasmine Shortland’s 3-year-old son, Bryan-Andrew, got a case of the chicken pox. Other than a stiff neck and some swelling, the little boy was reportedly healthy and normal.

Jasmine, 23, dropped Bryan-Andrew and his brother, Austin, off at their grandmother’s house because she didn’t want her infant son, Ivan, to catch the chicken pox. Austin had had chicken pox without any complications, so Jasmine assumed Bryan-Andrew’s case would be no different.

The following morning, Jasmine’s mother discovered Bryan-Andrew wouldn’t wake up. Rescue workers rushed to the home and performed CPR, but it was too late.

Bryan-Andrew had passed away in his sleep. To say Jasmine was shocked would be an understatement.

“The night before, he was running around,” she said. “He was happy. He was laughing and joking. I spoke to him on the phone the night before he died, and he told me he loved me.”

As the weeks passed, doctors made a truly horrible and unexpected discovery. As it turned out, Bryan-Andrew could have contracted a rare and invasive form of the streptococcus A infection by scratching one of his chicken pox scabs, which led to sepsis, a life-threatening complication of an infection.

Now, the young mom is raising awareness about this little-known danger associated with chicken pox, encouraging parents to stay extra vigilant.

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