The Palm Beach Post reports this morning that Amber Dycus, 38, of Loxahatchee, Florida, went to the hospital after four days of illness. The doctors told her she was in acute kidney failure, hours from 
death. She endured six days of intensive care, multiple blood transfusions and, so far, 196 bags of plasma.
There are more treatments to come, and no signs yet that her kidney function is approaching normal. She feels lucky to be alive, but also very afraid – afraid of eating out, afraid of catching germs, afraid of never getting better.
Dycus desperately wants to know what did this to her. Her lawyer, Craig Goldenfarb, thinks the public ought to feel the same way.
A health department inquiry has resulted in the brief closure of a Royal Palm Beach restaurant where Dycus often ate. Inspectors found roaches, improper food temperatures, slime in the freezer and a dishwasher with almost no sanitizer in it. After a thorough cleaning and a tuneup on the dishwasher, the restaurant, Hilary & Sons, has reopened.
But was it really the source of her illness? A series of missed opportunities, miscommunications, delays, and no small measure of scientific uncertainty means there may never be a conclusive answer.
At Palms West last month, Dycus was diagnosed with hemolytic-uremic syndrome. It’s an often fatal condition that happens when toxins cause red blood cells to shear apart and clog capillaries, shutting down the kidneys and leading to a buildup of waste in the blood.
It’s associated with outbreaks of dangerous E.coli O157 food poisoning.
Normally, when E.coli O157 is suspected, the health department is notified immediately, so that a public health investigation can be launched.
Dycus said her doctors told her she must have eaten contaminated beef. She’s grateful to them, and the nurses at Palms West, whom she says saved her life. But one thing they did not do was notify health authorities. A spokeswoman for Palms West said she could not comment.
It wasn’t until Dycus contacted a lawyer, and her lawyer called the media, that a health inquiry began. By then, a month had passed, the foods Dycus had eaten had long since disappeared, and the ability to tell exactly what sickened her had become nearly impossible to discern.
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urging anyone who may have recently purchased milk from the Hartmann Dairy Farm, also known as M.O.M.’s, to discard the product and not consume it.
Aren’t there a bunch of E. coli experts at both places?
Sorenne’s first birthday was fun but her 1-year doctor’s visit was not. She got 5 shots and a blood draw which left her in tears and a bit leery of nurses for future visits. All I could think about was how thankful I am that she is not a sick child and that this kind of torture is preventative and not curative treatment. I do not know how parents of sick children cope with watching their children suffer. Doug said, “Now imagine watching your child in the hospital with HUS.”.jpg)
She is in Alder Hey Children’s hospital in Liverpool, which today released a statement from her mother, Sarah, who also fell ill, and her father, Jeff. .jpg)
“It’s terrible that more people are having to go through this. Mason fought for two weeks until he couldn’t fight any more and ever since I have fought on for him as I don’t want his death to be in vain.”
His dad told Action News today that Isaiah is normally an active kid, but this has slown him down and their time in the hospital has been heart-wrenching saying "you never think you’re going to see your child in the hospital and the reality of it is, is that it can happen to anyone. … It’s hard on us, but with God’s help we’re doing OK."
The tests done on the child indicated he or she was infected with E. coli..jpg)
“Although we can reveal few details to avoid identifying anyone, there is one child who is very ill and in hospital,” said Dr. Catherine Whiting, Medical Officer of Health. “This person meets the criteria for complications from an E. coli infection, specifically Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome or HUS.”