An E. coli Nightmare
In 2007 a multi-state public health investigation into a nationwide E. coli O157:H7 outbreak identified a number of people who became ill with E. coli O157:H7 after eating ground beef patties. Four-year-old John and his 18-month-old sister Michaela were two of them.
There is no good time to have a child who is sick with E. coli O157:H7. But there are times that are certainly much worse than others. For Jim and Georgia, John and Michaela's parents, the month of October 2007 was a nightmare.
John recalls, "On September 14th we found our dream home. We had a closing date of October 12th for our new home and a closing date of October 18th for our old home. But more importantly, October 18th was my wife's due date with our fourth child. We had been busy before, but even without the illnesses, September and October 2007 were really going to test our wills."
To accommodate all the momentous shifts occurring in their lives, the McDonalds had to save time, energy, and money wherever they could. One thing that they did was to purchase frozen hamburger patties, because a single box of patties could provide for multiple, easy-to-prepare meals.
In preparation for their move, the family packed some of their belongings and put them in storage on Sept. 26. That night, the family and a friend who had helped them move shared a dinner of hamburgers. John and Michaela shared a burger; their sister Chrysi, a picky eater, refused to eat any of the hamburgers prepared for dinner that night.
John remained healthy and well until Oct. 2, when he had an abrupt onset of diarrhea with abdominal pain and a low-grade fever. By the middle of the next day, the bouts of diarrhea had become more frequent, causing his parents to worry about keeping him hydrated.
Hospitalization
The diarrhea increased in frequency and painfulness, and soon became bloody. Jim wasted no more time. He rushed John to the Emergency Department of East Tennessee Children's Hospital.
While at the ER, John received intravenous fluids for dehydration and submitted a stool sample for testing. His symptoms improved during his several hour stay in the ER and he was discharged.
After they arrived home, John's symptoms picked up where they had left off hours before. He was soon vomiting and his diarrhea turned bloody. That night, John suffered a bout of bloody diarrhea every couple of hours and had great difficulty keeping any fluids down. Georgia stayed up with him most of the night.
The morning of Oct. 4, Georgia called John's pediatrician, who asked her to bring John's diaper containing bloody diarrhea into his office so it could be cultured. Jim took John to the doctor's office, where more intravenous fluids were administered for dehydration.
In light of his declining condition, John's pediatrician arranged for an ambulance to pick him up for a transfer to Children's Hospital.
For the McDonald family, this was the beginning of their E. coli nightmare.
Upon his arrival to Children's Hospital, John was directly admitted to the Pediatric Unit. Jim recalls, "John's stomach cramping was severe. He was crying and screaming almost non-stop."
John ran a low-grade fever on and off throughout the day and into the evening. His oral intake of fluids was poor, and he produced no urine. He had persistent, watery, blood-streaked stools accompanied by severe abdominal cramping.
By 1 a.m. on Oct. 5, both of John's feet were swollen, an indication that he was retaining fluids.
Later in the day, Jim and Georgia learned that the friend who had eaten hamburgers with the family was also suffering from bloody diarrhea. In addition, John's sister Michaela was suffering from symptoms of a gastrointestinal illness.
Preliminary culture results from John's Oct. 4 stool sample were positive for a heavy growth of E. coli O157:H7.
As John's condition worsened, so did Michaela's. The birth of Jim and Georgia's fourth child was imminent.
The accumulating stress of these developments was so severe that Jim and Georgia practically forgot about the move to a new house.
On Oct. 6, lab results showed John's continued descent toward full-blown hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
There is no good time to have a child who is sick with E. coli O157:H7. But there are times that are certainly much worse than others. For Jim and Georgia, John and Michaela's parents, the month of October 2007 was a nightmare.
John recalls, "On September 14th we found our dream home. We had a closing date of October 12th for our new home and a closing date of October 18th for our old home. But more importantly, October 18th was my wife's due date with our fourth child. We had been busy before, but even without the illnesses, September and October 2007 were really going to test our wills."
To accommodate all the momentous shifts occurring in their lives, the McDonalds had to save time, energy, and money wherever they could. One thing that they did was to purchase frozen hamburger patties, because a single box of patties could provide for multiple, easy-to-prepare meals.
In preparation for their move, the family packed some of their belongings and put them in storage on Sept. 26. That night, the family and a friend who had helped them move shared a dinner of hamburgers. John and Michaela shared a burger; their sister Chrysi, a picky eater, refused to eat any of the hamburgers prepared for dinner that night.
John remained healthy and well until Oct. 2, when he had an abrupt onset of diarrhea with abdominal pain and a low-grade fever. By the middle of the next day, the bouts of diarrhea had become more frequent, causing his parents to worry about keeping him hydrated.
Hospitalization
The diarrhea increased in frequency and painfulness, and soon became bloody. Jim wasted no more time. He rushed John to the Emergency Department of East Tennessee Children's Hospital.
While at the ER, John received intravenous fluids for dehydration and submitted a stool sample for testing. His symptoms improved during his several hour stay in the ER and he was discharged.
After they arrived home, John's symptoms picked up where they had left off hours before. He was soon vomiting and his diarrhea turned bloody. That night, John suffered a bout of bloody diarrhea every couple of hours and had great difficulty keeping any fluids down. Georgia stayed up with him most of the night.
The morning of Oct. 4, Georgia called John's pediatrician, who asked her to bring John's diaper containing bloody diarrhea into his office so it could be cultured. Jim took John to the doctor's office, where more intravenous fluids were administered for dehydration.
In light of his declining condition, John's pediatrician arranged for an ambulance to pick him up for a transfer to Children's Hospital.
For the McDonald family, this was the beginning of their E. coli nightmare.
Upon his arrival to Children's Hospital, John was directly admitted to the Pediatric Unit. Jim recalls, "John's stomach cramping was severe. He was crying and screaming almost non-stop."
John ran a low-grade fever on and off throughout the day and into the evening. His oral intake of fluids was poor, and he produced no urine. He had persistent, watery, blood-streaked stools accompanied by severe abdominal cramping.
By 1 a.m. on Oct. 5, both of John's feet were swollen, an indication that he was retaining fluids.
Later in the day, Jim and Georgia learned that the friend who had eaten hamburgers with the family was also suffering from bloody diarrhea. In addition, John's sister Michaela was suffering from symptoms of a gastrointestinal illness.
Preliminary culture results from John's Oct. 4 stool sample were positive for a heavy growth of E. coli O157:H7.
As John's condition worsened, so did Michaela's. The birth of Jim and Georgia's fourth child was imminent.
The accumulating stress of these developments was so severe that Jim and Georgia practically forgot about the move to a new house.
On Oct. 6, lab results showed John's continued descent toward full-blown hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
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