4-year-old hospitalized with E. coli after swimming in Virgin River

ST. GEORGE — When Kate Garner took her household to the Virgin River on June 12, she had the identical speak she’d at all times had together with her children relating to out of doors our bodies of water.

“I’ve shown them what the algae looks like so that they don’t touch it,” she mentioned. “As soon as we’re done swimming, we wash our hands, and I’ve told them not to drink the water.”

The household of six had typically gone to this explicit spot attributable to it being shaded by timber and having a rope swing. Garner recalled by no means having skilled any points earlier than however observed that her 4-year-old son’s head went underneath the water a few instances. She mentioned she reminded him to “keep his mouth closed,” including that they did not see any algae blooms the place they have been taking part in.

So, when her 4-year-old son (who she has requested to not be named) began feeling sick the next day, she did not assume a lot of it at first.

“On Sunday, he came down with a fever, then the next day he was fine and we even went on a hike,” she recalled. “On Tuesday night, he had bloody diarrhea.”

Garner and her husband took their son to the emergency room and have been instructed that he had E. coli, a bacterial sickness brought on by fecal matter in water from people and different warm-blooded animals. E. coli doesn’t produce algae blooms.

“The doctor said (our son) couldn’t have an antibiotic because it can release more toxins and be really bad on his kidneys and liver,” she mentioned. “He said it would run its course, and we were sent home with paperwork on what HUS was, and we didn’t think it was a big deal.”

Hemolytic uremic syndrome is a extreme complication, typically brought on by an an infection with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli. HUS can also be uncommon, affecting roughly 8 in 100,000 people per 12 months, based on the Department of Health and Human Services.

Garner mentioned that when her son’s situation did not enhance, she started to learn via the paperwork and obtained scared.

“It said that a warning sign of HUS is that they stopped urinating,” she mentioned. “I was thinking about it, and I’m like, ‘Oh, my gosh! I don’t think he has peed since we were in the ER on Wednesday.'”

For the subsequent a number of hours, she and her husband stuffed their son with fluids and observed that he wasn’t urinating. They took him to the ER the subsequent morning and have been instantly admitted, and shortly Garner discovered herself being flown to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City so he may obtain dialysis attributable to kidney failure, in addition to blood transfusions.

“It was the craziest thing to see him go from just a regular kid to being so sick,” she mentioned.

Faith and drugs

Even after three blood transfusions, Garner’s son wasn’t bettering and was in full kidney failure.

“The doctors told us that he had hit the point where it was life-threatening because he was having fevers and they were afraid that the infection had gotten into the blood and possibly brain,” she mentioned. “That night was probably the worst, but our family and friends and our local church all fasted for him so he could get better.”

That evening, the 4-year-old was doing properly sufficient and had stabilized to the purpose that he was capable of depart the ICU and begin bettering.

“His blood platelet numbers started to go up; his hemoglobin started to stabilize. His white blood cells — everything started healing itself,” Garner mentioned. “To be able to come back from that is incredible.

“Even although it has been so scary, it is also such a cool story about drugs and the ability of religion,” she added. “All of the attractive nurses and medical doctors which have helped us alongside the best way, caring for him.”

Garner said that even though she thought she had all her bases covered by telling her kids the dangers of toxic algae, she wasn’t aware of the unseen danger of E. coli that was also present. She also said that she wants parents to be aware of what can happen, especially during the hot summer months.

“The physician mentioned that due to the drought, there may be much less water transferring and it is sizzling, so children are taking part in within the water, making extra children prone,” she said. “It’s unlucky as a result of this climate is what makes you wish to exit and swim, however it’s the very factor that makes the physique of water extra harmful.”

David Heaton from the Southwest Utah Public Health Department told KSL that while these instances are rare, keeping your head above water and not ingesting it is the best way to prevent becoming infected.

Garner is still at the hospital with her son, waiting for his blood pressure to level out, but says that they will be returning home to St. George soon, adding that there is a long road ahead for her son. Friends have set up a GoFundMe* to assist with medical bills.

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