A 15-year-old American girl, who was allegedly infected with E. coli after eating a quarter-pound burger at McDonald’s, is now reportedly battling kidney failure, which she could suffer from for the rest of her life.
“If she had waited, if I had waited longer (to drive her to the hospital), she might not be here right now. She went from being in excellent health and without any problems to having possible kidney damage for the rest of her life,” Brittany Randall, the teenager’s mother, told NBC News on Tuesday.
Young Kamberlyn Bowler, 15, struggled to contain her tears as she thought about her last weeks, during a Zoom interview with the American media from her hospital bed.
The teenager is believed to be part of a group of at least 75 people in 13 US states who were infected with E. coli bacteria, causing one person’s death: an outbreak that authorities are currently attributing to sliced onions served in restaurants. quarter pounder burgers at McDonald’s.
For the young woman, the ordeal began earlier this month, when she began to suffer from fever and stomach aches.
“We both thought I just had a fever, like a common flu,” the teenager told NBC News. But then I started vomiting, having diarrhea, and it was bloody, so that scared me.”
“Rare complication”
The duo went to the hospital for the first time, but the scans did not reveal anything significant, so mother and daughter returned home. But after six days, the teenager reportedly indicated that “something was wrong,” and, fortunately, her mother took her seriously.
This time, tests reportedly noted not only a significant E. coli infection, but also symptoms of kidney failure, a “rare complication” that can cause permanent damage, according to Dr. Nicole Iovine, chief epidemiologist at UF Health Shands Hospital in Florida, which does not treat Kamberlyn Bowler.
“Unfortunately, some people end up with decreased kidney function or permanent kidney failure,” she noted to NBC News.
The young girl was reportedly rushed by helicopter on October 18 to Children’s Hospital Colorado, where she remains.
“It’s definitely been a roller coaster since we got here. Every day, new tests or new things appear, or it’s basically watching your body not work,” her mother lamented to the American media.
Before contracting the bacteria, the active girl did not suffer from any underlying conditions, she said.
Prosecution to come
For now, the two women want to focus on the teen’s recovery, but they plan to sue the fast food chain, along with 32 other victims represented by Ron Simon, a national food poisoning attorney.
“There will be many more cases in this epidemic than 75,” he reportedly stressed, referring to the latest count of cases listed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Much more, without a doubt.”
For its part, McDonald’s would have indicated by email that cases like those of the teenager are “upsetting for us”, while the president of McDonald’s USA, Joe Erlinger, would have apologized in a video published Sunday by the company.
“I want you to hear it from me: We are sorry. For affected customers, you have my commitment that, guided by our values, we will remedy the situation,” he said, according to NBC News.
