- 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.
This as-told-to 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 has verified her account through hospital records, dining 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 cheese and extra pickles, on September 25 and September 27. By the evening of October 8, her forehead was hot to the touch, and she complained of a 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're still at the hospital and don't know when we'll be able to leave or what lasting health effects she will experience.
As a mother, I worry that if I'd waited any longer to seek medical help, my daughter wouldn't be here today. I'm wary of trusting fast food or restaurants ever again.
We wrote off her symptoms as the flu
Kamberlyn insisted on going to school on October 9, the day after running a fever, but called out early when she started experiencing nausea, stomach cramping, and bloody diarrhea.
I treated it like a typical flu and gave her some medicine I had at home. On October 11, her symptoms worsened, and she felt unable to eat or drink anything, so I took her to a doctor who suggested it may be appendicitis and instructed us to go to the emergency room.
The emergency room ran several tests and told us it was gastritis, so they sent us home to wait it out. Kamberlyn told me she felt a bit better after receiving fluids from the hospital.
Six days later, she said something wasn't right
On October 17, I drove her back to the emergency room. 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 more equipped to deal with pediatric kidney failure.
It's been a roller coaster since arriving here.
Kamberlyn spent the first few days in the pediatric ICU, where she was put on 24-hour dialysis to remove toxins from her blood. Now she's completely confined to a room with her doctors and me where she's been on dialysis every other day. It's been a waiting game to see how her kidneys function.
It's frustrating to see my child's body fight against her. It's been hard.
I won't be eating McDonald's again
She has been making progress, but we still don't know when she'll be able to leave the hospital or what lasting damage has been caused to her kidneys. She may never experience issues again, or it could be something that causes lifelong issues. We just don't know.
We're planning to take legal action against McDonald's and I won't be eating there ever again. It's hard to put trust in fast food if this is the outcome that can happen. I'm simply 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 contamination is still under investigation. The Food and Drug Administration has identified the onions on McDonald's Quarter Pounders as a possible source of this outbreak.
A McDonald's spokesperson pointed Business Insider to recent remarks by Joe Erlinger, McDonald's US president.
"You trust us to serve you safe food every time. On behalf of the McDonald's system, I want you to hear from me: we are sorry," he said. "For those customers affected, you have my commitment that, led by our values: we will make this right."