In May 2013, public health buffoon Dr. Eric Wilke of the Brazos County Health Department in College Station, Texas, declared to a press conference that an E. coli O157 outbreak that landed two brothers in hospital was “a fluke” as he chowed down on a beef taco from the implicated Coco Loco Mexican restaurant.

A year later, KBTX.com reports Jack and Noah Melton were hospitalized for weeks at Texas Children’s Hospital and they haven’t fully recovered from what happened last April 16th when the family went for a meal at Coco Loco Mexican Restaurant on George Bush Drive in College Station.

“We had several touch and go moments,” said Alissa Melton, the boys’ mother.

“Potential life and death situations,” said their dad Greg Melton.

“There were times we weren’t sure they were going to make it the next hour you know. And when you have your 18-month-old staring at you lifeless, pale and white and doctors are rushing in there’s nothing more terrifying. And they were sick you know just from eating a taco,” said Alissa Melton.

The Meltons are grateful for all the prayers, encouragement and help from the community as they reflect on this Good Friday.

“I think if we learned anything it’s that we’re not in control and that we can’t control every aspect of our lives and that you know that we can trust God with our lives and with our kids’s lives,” said Alissa Melton.

The U.S. can do better than faith-based food safety.