The cover picture is Aimee two weeks before she ate the hot dog. These pictures were taken after we had some hope for recovery. I couldn’t bring myself to take pictures when she was screaming in agony passing what looked like red jello every twenty minutes crying, “Mama, make it stop.”
For two weeks we didn’t even know what it was. Thank God we pushed to have her transferred to Sutter Children’s Center in Sacramento, where doctors not only knew how to treat her HUS, but the clinical pharmacists knew how to relieve her pain.
These pictures were taken there. Multiple transfusions, two surgeries, dialysis, NG tubes, and a lot of answered prayers saved Aimee.
We have spent the last two years watching her learn to walk again, regain her strength, and hold our breath at every HIV test. Almost two years later, Aimee is back to normal. Our story had a happy ending. (See Aimee’s four-year-old picture taken at Christmas.)
We saw the whole public health system fall apart as we tried to coordinate efforts to protect other children from her in the intensive care unit. Please use these pictures to educate anyone who can make positive food safety changes. I find it helps bureaucrats to have a face to put on food safety.
Sincerely,
Mary Beth
Transcribed by: Susan V. Grooters from written correspondence to Heather Klinkhammer.
