When their eight-year-old son Xander developed an upset stomach and diarrhea one Friday night, Julie and George Wright had no reason to suspect anything other than a stomach bug.

After all, with Xander being the youngest of six children, the Meriden, Kan. family had plenty of experience with minor illness. But that’s also why they knew it needed a closer look the next day, when Xander’s diarrhea became bloody.

They took Xander to urgent care, which sent him to Stormont-Vail’s emergency room. Tests confirmed a diagnosis that the family didn’t expect – Xander was infected with E. coli bacteria.

“We didn’t know where it could have come from,” George said. “It was scary because I knew it wasn’t good.”

Doctors began treatment, but, after a few days, the normally outgoing, rambunctious little boy got worse.

“He wouldn’t talk,” Julie said. “He just laid there.”

Doctors say the particular strain of E. coli Xander had contracted was producing toxins. After several days, it started attacking his red blood cells and shutting down his kidneys. Stormont loaded Xander on LifeStar for a flight to Children’s Mercy.

“I wanted to jump on that helicopter with him,” Julie said. “It was hard because then we had our other kids come in and tell him goodbye and they started crying.”

“I didn’t think I could cry as much as I did, but I did,” George said. “It was very scary.”

Unfortunately, Xander and his family aren’t alone. Shawnee County reports eight cases of shiga-toxin producing E. coli infection in 2015 in patients aged 19 or younger. The number is the highest in at least five years. Statewide, there’ve been 68 cases, up from 54 in 2014.