A few days before becoming ill, we had taken our kids to a pumpkin patch that also had a petting zoo. They enjoyed petting the animals. We had no idea how dangerous this activity is for young children. Animals at the petting zoo can shed Shiga toxin-producing E.coli (STEC) in their manure. As little as ten cells of bacteria can cause severe illness in a child.

Sunday, October 15, 2023 my 21 month old daughter Olivia was not herself. She was somnolent, lethargic, did not want to eat or drink. She had decreased urine output, and massive amounts of diarrhea which caused open wounds in her buttocks.
Monday, October 16th, Olivia continued with fatigue/lethargy, diarrhea, bloody stool, and a decrease in food and liquids, as well as a decrease in urine output. I took her to see our PCP for stool samples. He told us that he would be out of the office after they closed due to vacation, so someone would call tomorrow with results. He said if things got worse we would need to seek care elsewhere.
On Tuesday, we did get antibiotics but she had not taken it due to serious decline. Tuesday evening we went to ER in Pittsburg KS after Olivia’s condition was deteriorating. We knew she had STEC, so we were worried. I had called the PCP office and had them send medical records to the ER so they would know exactly what they were working with in terms of STEC and the specific strain she had.
At the ER, we were treated horrible. They made us feel like we were over reacting and told us “it has to run its course”. I was visibly mad and upset, I knew something was wrong with Olivia and it was clear that they did not want to help us. They told me that since her mouth was wet (they brought her a cup of water and she took just enough to wet her mouth) that they really did not want to poke her and wanted to just keep “pushing” fluids. We had been trying that for almost two days and it wasn’t working. At this point she had had one diaper in the last 24 hours. No matter what I told them, it did not cause them to change their perception. They simply did not care what we as parents had to say. The only thing they did for Olivia was check her temperature, pulse (which was in the 160’s) and pulse oxygen. We were sent home feeling very uneasy.
Wednesday morning there was still no improvement in Olivia. She had vomited a few times in the night. I just knew she was not okay. I called Children Mercy’s nurse line and told them all of the above information and they said she definitely warranted being seen and to bring her right in. My mom and I loaded her up and headed to Kansas City. We intended to go to Children’s Mercy Hospital North in Kansas City Missouri, but looking at Olivia in the backseat we felt we should not drive any further so we stopped at the CMH South location.
From arrival to discharge we received the utmost care. We were treated like we mattered and like we were not a burden. Olivia’s physical presentation was so poor the doctor decided to admit her before even seeing lab results. Once we had all the lab results, we were told Olivia was in metabolic acidosis, her kidneys were failing and she would transported via ambulance the Children Mercy’s North hospital.
The next day, Thursday, October 19th, Tyler drove home, which is almost two hours away, to be with our other kids for a couple hours. He had to get things situated for them and to gather some things for us. They told us they didn’t know how long we would be at the hospital.
Within 24 hours of being hospitalize, Olivia had quit producing urine and was no longer eating or drinking. I was alone when we got the official diagnosis of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS). I was DEVASTATED, absolutely heartbroken! I did not know much about HUS at the time. I’m sure the doctor explained it in great detail, but I just remember my ears ringing while she talked and trying to process all of the information.
A PICC line and a hemodialysis catheter were placed. Olivia had 15 days of hemodialysis, 4 hours every day removing a max of 600 ml off her tiny body each day. Olivia received 6 blood transfusions which were normally concurrent with dialysis. Olivia also contracted Para influenza 1 after a few nights of being hospitalized. We think she caught it the first night. We were placed in a short term stay unit until they could decide where they wanted us. The rooms were divided with curtains and they kept a lot of mild respiratory cases, and acute observation cases in this area. Catching a virus really added insult to injury as she already felt terrible.
I often ponder how something so innocent, petting farm animals, an activity people do every day, caused my baby to fight for her life. It is actually insane to think about. Being in the hospital definitely takes a toll on a person, not only the parents and the child, but it strains the whole family dynamic. Every day I prayed to God that things would start to turn around for: Olivia, my own mental health, my kids at home who missed their sister, and family members that took on the task of caring for my healthy children and normalizing life as much as possible. It was a humbling experience, something I will never forget, and something I hope to never experience again.
On November 8th, after 22 days in the hospital, Olivia went home. As a nurse, I know how to adequately take care of my patients; I am competent in all my skills. However, as a mom whose child was on the verge of death, all that goes out of the window. I was TERRIFIED to take my child TWO hours away from the very place that saved her life. Tyler was scared too. Was it too soon? What if HUS returns? What if we can’t get her blood pressure down? What if we can’t get her to take her blood pressure medication? The list could go on forever. Terrifying is the only word that sums it all up.
We are so fortunate that Olivia has made the recovery that she has. She no longer takes blood pressure medication or does daily blood pressure checks. She still has anxiety with her doctor’s appointment. As long as we can prepare her a week ahead of time, she can cope. It makes me sad how she sits there like a champ at 3 years old and doesn’t even flinch with a blood draw. It took her two years to sleep in her own bed again. We are happy to report as of August of 2025, she has transitioned back to her own room and bed.
Olivia does have chronic kidney disease and will have annual nephrology appointments the rest of her life to monitor her kidneys. Someday, she may need to be put back on medication to help protect her kidneys. The only time we see her blood pressure really elevated is with ANY kind of illness. Something that would be mild for someone else affects Olivia differently. Having said all of this, she made a miraculous recovery, while her kidneys are injured they made great improvements and her little body fought so hard to get her where she is today. We are certainly blessed.