In 2017, after living in England for 11 years, our family moved back to the United States. We were struggling with adapting to the food here and missing the much healthier European lifestyle. Seeing nutritional consultations advertised at a Wellness Center near our home in Tennessee, I decided to find out if there was anything we could do to feel better.
In addition to trying some supplements, the nutritionist’s main recommendation for William was to stop drinking commercial milk. According to him, pasteurized milk is held at such a high temperature that the protein molecule is warped and can cause inflammation. Sadly, I was not warned of any risks of drinking unpasteurized milk. I spent a couple of months reading online about the benefits of raw milk and then called around until I found a local cow share program and bought a share in the French Broad herd at Cruze Farm, a thriving business in Knoxville. That was in December.
At the beginning of June, after drinking raw milk for 5 months, William started having vomiting and diarrhea one weekend. I also had an upset stomach and thought we must have a bug of some sort. But after a couple of days of increasing abdominal pain, lethargy and not being able to keep down any fluids, we went to urgent care where they sent us straight to the ER. There William’s blood work showed scary results: that his kidneys weren’t functioning properly. Because several children had already been admitted with the same symptoms, the staff was aware of an E. coli outbreak from the French Broad herd and told us his diagnosis. That evening, William had his first seizure and was put on a ventilator.
Will spent the next two months in the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, one of which was in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. It was intense and distressing as there were several days and nights where we didn’t know if he would live or die. The virulent Shiga toxin from his E. coli infection was shed into his bloodstream, leading to Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS).
This initial injury triggered a cascade of other worsening physiological and systemic problems:
+ He suffered from bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and more seizures.
+ He was ventilated twice, and struggled to breathe for days, undergoing numerous respiratory therapies.
+ His high blood pressure, high heart rate, pneumonia, adenovirus, and colitis left him writhing in pain and needing constant morphine.
+ He had renal failure, and 22 days of dialysis treatments lasting about 4 hours each. (And now has long-term kidney damage.)
+ Encephalopathy and edema left him with permanent brain damage.
+ He had surgery for the PICC line, vascular catheter placement, and multiple IV’s.
+ Allergic reactions to medication gave him hives.
+ He had withdrawal hallucinations, and night terrors from delirium.
+ He suffered through 2 ultrasounds, 4 CT scans, 2 EEGs, 2 MRIs, 7 blood transfusions, and countless X-rays.
+ Total parenteral nutrition (TPN) provided all the necessary nutrients directly into his bloodstream, and then later a feeding tube to keep him alive.
The list goes on and on …
Seeing the way our sweet boy was suffering absolutely broke our hearts over and over. We were living through a nightmare that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.
Throughout it all though, we also experienced so much of God’s mercy and grace through the support of the wonderful medical care staff and family, friends, and churches we knew, as well as from the kindness of strangers.
William’s gross and fine motor skills are now permanently impaired. Years of expensive and time-consuming therapies have helped him learn to eat, speak, and walk again with the assistance of his gait trainer and orthotics (AFOs). Giving him raw milk is the biggest regret of my life. It’s taken me a long time to forgive myself.
Though his injuries are permanent, William is a bright and happy boy. Our unstoppable miracle.
