A Colorado teen ended up in the hospital after allegedly eating a Quarter Pounder with cheese meal at McDonald's. The teen had kidney failure shortly after.
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This happened in the weeks prior to the widescale E. coli outbreak at the chain. Now, the family believes that the teen developed food poisoning at the restaurant. 15-year-old Kamberlyn Bowler was the picture perfect of health. She played softball and generally was a typical teen.
However, in October, she began to develop a high fever as well as severe stomach cramps. According to NBC News, the teen initially passed it off as the flu. "We both kind of thought I just had a fever, like just the flu or something — a stomach bug," Bowler told the outlet. "But then I started throwing up, having diarrhea, and it was bloody, so it scared me."
Doctors believed that she was having an appendicitis. But the emergency room didn't show any signs and sent her home. Fast forward a couple of days, and her symptoms had gotten worse.
McDonald's Meal Before Illness
"I think it was day six that she said: 'Something's not right. I don't feel good. I need to go back to the hospital,'" her mother shared. The emergency room trip revealed that she was in kidney failure due to an E. coli infection. They diagnosed her with enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli-associated hemolytic uremic syndrome. Basically, the bacteria attacked her kidneys.
The teen had to undergo dialysis for 10 days to try to save her kidneys. Prior to getting sick, Bowler went to McDonald's several times. She also ate a Quarter Pounder with cheese. The teen was one of 11 people in her county to get sick after eating at McDonald's. There's been 75 people nationwide.
"It's been definitely a roller coaster from the time that we've gotten here until now. Every day has been new tests or new things that pop up, or it's basically watching her body just not work," her mother said.
The teen is still in the hospital. Doctors don't know what the future holds for her. But her kidneys are showing some signs of functioning again.
"She went from being super healthy and no issues at all to possibly kidney damage for her whole life," her mother said.
The mother and daughter are planning to sue McDonald's.
