- Brittany Randall believes her 15-year-old daughter contracted E. coli after eating at McDonald’s.
- Her symptoms were initially mistaken for the flu, delaying proper medical treatment.
- Randall’s daughter is currently in the hospital receiving dialysis.
This essay is based on a conversation with Brittany Randall, a 39-year-old from Mesa County, Colorado, whose 15-year-old daughter, Kamberlyn Bowler, contracted E. coli at the same time as a Recent E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s in 10 states. Business Insider verified her account through hospital records, meal receipts and other documents. This has been edited for length and clarity.
My 15-year-old daughter, Kamberlyn, ate the same meal at McDonald’s, a Quarter Pounder with extra cheese and pickles, on September 25th and September 27th. On the evening of October 8, her forehead was hot to the touch and she complained of fever.
We chalked her symptoms up to the flu, and I told her to hydrate and get some rest.
Ten days later, we were transferred to the nearest children’s hospital for her to receive dialysis treatment for a life-threatening complication of E. coli. We are still in the hospital and don’t know when we will be able to leave or what lasting health effects she will experience.
As a mother, I worry that if I had waited any longer to seek medical help, my daughter would not be here today. I am wary of trusting fast food or restaurants again.
We wrote off her symptoms as the flu
Kamberlyn insisted on going to school on October 9, the day after she had a fever, but called early when she started experiencing nausea, stomach cramps and bloody diarrhea.
I treated it like a typical flu and gave it some medicine I had at home. On October 11th, her symptoms worsened and she felt unable to eat or drink anything, so I took her to a doctor who suggested it might be appendicitis and directed us to the emergency room.
The emergency room did some tests and told us it was gastritis, so we were sent home to wait it out. Kamberlyn told me she felt a little better after receiving fluids from the hospital.
Six days later, she said something was wrong
On October 17th, I drove him back to the ER. Blood and stool tests showed she had a life-threatening complication of E. coli called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and was experiencing acute kidney failure.
The next day we were transferred to a nearby children’s hospital where they were better equipped to deal with pediatric kidney failure.
It’s been a rollercoaster since I got here.
Kamberlyn spent the first few days in the pediatric ICU, where she underwent 24-hour dialysis to remove toxins from her blood. Now she is completely confined to a room with her doctors and me, where she has been on dialysis every other day. It’s been a waiting game to see how her kidneys are doing.
It is frustrating to see my child’s body fighting against it. It has been difficult.
I will never eat McDonald’s again
She has improved, but we still don’t know when she will be able to leave the hospital or what long-term damage has been done to her kidneys. It may no longer cause problems, or it may be something that causes lifelong problems. We just don’t know.
We are planning to take legal action against McDonald’s and I will not be eating there again. It’s hard to believe in fast food if this is the outcome that can happen. I’m just not interested in eating out anymore.
Editor’s note: Kamberlyn Bowler is one of 33 people represented by Ron Simon & Associates who believe they were victims of the McDonald’s E. coli outbreak.
The specific source of the contamination is still under investigation. The Food and Drug Administration has identified the onions in McDonald’s Quarter Pounders as a possible source of this outbreak.
A McDonald’s spokesperson told Business Insider about the latest INTRODUCTORY NOTES by Joe Erlinger, the American president of McDonald’s.
“You trust us to deliver safe food every time. On behalf of the McDonald’s system, I want you to hear from me: we’re sorry,” he said. “To those customers affected, you have my commitment that, guided by our values: we will make this right.”