A 6-year-old boy has recently died of a rare brain infection, but not before he could share a heartbreaking note with his family.

Leland Shoemake fell ill about a month ago after being infected by the amoeba Balamuthia mandrillaris. The amoeba made its way to his brain, and he was relocated to the hospital after a couple weeks. He passed away Friday.

Though his parents, Amber and Tim, were by his side throughout the ordeal, they returned home after his death to pick out clothes for him to be buried in to find a handwritten note. His mother took to Facebook, where there was a page set up for her son, to show the world:

Note
The note Leland left for his parents. Facebook

Doctors had initially been stumped by Leland’s illness and suggested meningitis before discovering the true source of the problem. Several teams of doctors worked on his case. Leland’s mother suggested he may have been infected with the amoeba while playing outside.

“The one thing he loved most was playing in the dirt,” she wrote in her Facebook post. “I never imagined that would be the thing that would take him from me.”