GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado — We’re hearing from a teenager who was one of the people sickened by an E-coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s.
Luckily, 15-year-old Kamberlyn Bowler is showing signs of improvement – but she’s still in the hospital.
The Colorado teen was admitted with severe complications of E-coli food poisoning, and the family says they are suing McDonald’s over the girl’s illness.
“It hurt to walk. Like, I couldn’t stand up straight like because my back was like, hurting really bad,” she said. “And I just, like, couldn’t get out of bed, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t drink. I was surviving on popsicles.”
Kamberlyn says she ate quarter pounders three times in the weeks before she got sick.
She’s one at least 75 people sickened in the outbreak. Twenty-two of those people ended up in the hospital.
E-coli bacteria can produce a toxin that leads to kidney disease.
Kamberlyn’s mother says there are signs the teen won’t have long term health problems – but in the short term, she and the family are struggling.
“Her kidneys are starting to function a little bit. So we’re hopeful that she will have full functioning kidneys when she leaves here,” said her mother, Brittany Randall. “If not, I’m not really sure how that looks or what that looks like yet.”
“I just know that, like hospital bills are racking up. Like, we’ve been literally here for 10 days and it’s been extensive. So it’s not like it’s just the stomach bug for her. It’s very, very much more than that,” Randall said.
“It’s pretty scary to know that, like, we put so much faith and trust that we’re going to be eating something that’s healthy and just have that trust in them,” her mother said. “And for it to be broken… it’s definitely a struggle.”
Randall says she is suing McDonald’s over her daughter’s illness.
The CEO of the fast food chain apologized to customers during an earnings call on Tuesday, saying reports of people getting sick are “wrenching” for the company.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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