A 9-year-old North Carolina girl has died from flu complications as the U.S. experiences its most intense flu season in 15 years.

Madeline Vernon of Randolph County was diagnosed with the flu on January 25. Her condition quickly deteriorated over the next few days. She woke up January 28 with a fever of 104.9 degrees.

Her parents, Mary Edging and Jimmy Vernon, rushed Madeline to urgent care, where she was placed on a ventilator to help her breathe, but the youngster tragically died the next day.

“I literally feel like my heart has been ripped in half. I lost … I literally lost a piece of me,” her devastated mom told WRAL.

Madeline, who was known as “Maddie” to family and friends, was described as a “ fun-loving energetic child” on a GoFundMe page set up by a friend.

“When she would give you one of those famous Maddie hugs you could truly feel the love behind it,” the message read. “Maddie was a very active and healthy child who loved to play soccer, volleyball for the local rec center.”

Madeline’s heartbroken family said they did everything they could to save her. “It wasn’t enough,” her dad told ABC10. “But God wanted his angel back, so … can’t be mad about that.”

She was “so amazing,” he continued. “Everyone that she came into contact with – for nine years or 30 seconds – you’d automatically fall in love with her. She was just that kind of person.”

In the nation so far this season there have been at least 13,000 total deaths, 310,000 hospitalizations due to flu, and 24 million illnesses. The most affected states have been in the South, Midwest, and Northeast, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Medics have urged families to get the flu vaccine to protect themselves after the previous deaths of two other children in the state.

“We at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services extend our deepest sympathies to the families of these children,” state epidemiologist Dr. Zack Moore told ABC10.

“This is a sad reminder that seasonal influenza can be serious and, in some cases, even fatal. If you or your loved ones have not received the flu vaccine this season, please consider doing so to help protect your family and those around you.”

Dr. Jason Newland, the division chief of infectious diseases at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, told TODAY.com: “What worries us the most are bacterial infections that can follow alongside influenza (and) get kids super, super sick. … Flu itself and those complications can lead to death in children. … Influenza is very scary.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr on Thursday was confirmed as secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services. Critics have warned that Kennedy’s controversial stance against vaccines could have deadly consequences in the nation.

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