koral reef , 20 , died last year after a horrifying and protracted battle against the little-understood parasite balamuthia mandrillaris .
reef was wed to her high school sweetheart in july 2013 just months before she began showing symptoms like headache , fatigue and stiff neck .
reef 's mother sybil meister believes reef picked up the amoeba on a trip to lake havasu in may 2013 -- she was dead by october 2014 .