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'Her heart just stopped': 7-year-old girl dies from flu, family says

Emily Maddox's grandmother has confirmed that her granddaughter died from the flu.

A deadly flu season has claimed the life of yet another Georgia child.

The family of Emily Maddox posted on social media Thursday the 7-year-old Loganville girl started fighting the flu Friday.

"They thought she had the stomach bug -- until the fever arose," said her grandmother, Margie Maddox, "When she developed a fever. That's when they took her to the doctor."

They said Emily was life-flighted to Egleston Tuesday but suffered organ failure.

"She was in critical condition and she never got better from that," Maddox said.

Emily was gone by 7:30 a.m. Thursday, family members said.

"Her heart just stopped," Margie said.

Emily's grandmother told 11Alive's Neima Abdulahi that her granddaughter tested positive for two strains of flu.

"This flu is awful -- to take a small life away from us, anyone, is horrific," Todd Maddox said. "No one needs to go through this."

Margie Maddox said Emily was a big fan of Wonder Woman.

"While she was laying in the bed in the hospital, I kept rubbing her head and telling her to get well because she's Wonder Woman," she said. "My son and daughter-in-law had bought her a brand new pair of shoes. Wonder Woman shoes. And she never got to wear them. She will take those with her."

More than $17,000 has been donated to a GoFundMe account to help pay for Emily's funeral expenses (click here for information on how to donate).

"To have the outpouring of love, all the prayers, the people that I work with… there are great people still in this world," Margie Maddox said. "And we are overwhelmed with the amount of love and support that we've gotten."

The Tim Stewart Funeral Home in Snellville, Georgia is helping to take care of the funeral cost. The owners of the Hill Haven Memory Gardens have donated a plot for the little girl.

MORE | The flu season in Georgia will probably get worse. Here is why.

The Georgia Department of Health told 11Alive they haven't yet confirmed it as an official flu death.

If confirmed Maddox's death was flu-related, this would be at least the fourth deadly pediatric flu case in Georgia. According to the most recent DPH numbers, there have been 66 confirmed flu-related deaths in Georgia.

READ | 15-year-old student at Cross Keys High School dies from flu

AND | Parents remember teen who died from flu complications

FLU GUIDE | Everything you need to know this 2018 flu season

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