Serenity’s Story
Age: 22 months
May 2024
Location: Virginia
Source: Lake Anna (Outbreak)
Infection: Shiga toxin-producing E.coli (STEC)
Disease: Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS)
Days Hospitalized: 6
Days of Dialysis: 2
Sunday May 26, 2024, our family went to Lake Anna over the Memorial Day weekend. We swam in the area known as the “Sandbar”. It is a shallow area perfect for playing volleyball and for young children to enjoy the lake.
Three days later on May 29th, our 22 month old daughter, Serenity, began having severe stomach cramps. She was lethargic, dehydrated and had a fever. Every time she had a BM, or even when she felt like she had to go, she would scream in pain.
Friday, May 31st, we went to the ER and they diagnosed her with a stomach bug and a double ear infection. They gave her antibiotics and fluids and sent us home. A few days later, Monday June 3rd, we saw her pediatrician who decided she did not have an ear infection and to stop the antibiotics in fear they were doing more harm than good.
She did more blood work, which showed low but not crucial, red blood cells and platelets with high white blood cells. She told us to go home push fluids come back the next morning to rerun the tests. When we came back the next day, June 4th, the blood work results were the same so she decided this was not a stomach bug and she wanted us to see a specialist.
Thursday, June 6th we saw the hematologist at the children’s hospital in Richmond. After hearing our story, seeing her vitals and observing how pale she was, he quickly told us to go to the ER. After being admitted to the ER, they took blood and started her on fluids. They also took an X-Ray of her chest, did an ultrasound of her abdomen, and ran an EKG.
Before the test results even came back they had reached out to the nephrology specialist. He had already started receiving cases of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) that week and knew that Serenity was going to be one of them. Once all the tests and scans came back, it confirmed that she did have HUS, and was in kidney failure with only had 5% kidney function. They proceeded to admit her and took her up to the ICU. Later that night, they inserted a central line for dialysis in her neck and proceeded with her first round of dialysis and a blood transfusion.
Serenity spent 6 days in the hospital, received 2 blood transfusions and 2 days of dialysis. She was released from the hospital on June 11th with stage 2 kidney disease.
Serenity was so excited to go home and to be back in her own bed. She asked for her own bed the entire time we were in the hospital. She was sluggish at first but everyday has improved. She was still a bit swollen when we got home in her face and her stomach. She had an extreme amount of urination, especially at night. She was peeing through multiple diapers, but this only lasted about a week.
During that week she would wake up with a less swollen belly and then as the day went on her belly would bloat fairly large as if she was retaining water (but she still had plenty of wet diapers throughout the day). I could tell she wanted to go back to doing her normal things, playing outside with her toys and her sister, but she became fatigued easily. Her appetite went back to normal fairly quickly so that was never an issue.
She does have emotional reactions from the trauma of the hospitalization. She starts crying when she sees someone in scrubs and does not want them touching her. She does not want any attention brought to her neck and chest where the dialysis catheter was placed. She does not want it touched while bathing and doesn’t want to let me look at it or to check on it for any reason. She gets frustrated and irritable quicker than normal and she gets tired very quickly, needing a longer nap than she did before having HUS.
One day while we were in the hospital for a follow-up appointment, we took a walk and she refused to enter the hospital. She had a meltdown when I picked her up and walked through the doors.
She is doing better and better every day, trying to be her best, care free two year old self.
The E.coli 0157:H7 outbreak at Lake Anna resulted in at least 25 developing a STEC infection and 8 developing HUS.
