GAINESVILLE, Ga. (AP) – Three years ago this May, Jeff and Jess Williams were enjoying Don Carter State Park and swimming in Lake Lanier with their three sons, including their youngest, Justus.
In the days following, Justus started to get sick and doctors told them that the illness should pass. But the boy’s condition worsened. He developed an infection and died less than two weeks later.
The couple didn’t know how it happened until they saw a news report in June that River Forks Park was shut down for high E. coli levels, and they realized that their 2-year-old son must have been swimming in risky waters.
“I was in a snowglobe of grief in the days and weeks following his death,” Jess Williams said.
It took her husband’s nudging to inspire them both to turn their story into something that could help others.