You may remember a Washington Post article of a few months ago about a Nevada woman, Linda Rivera, age 59, who had been stuck in the hospital fighting for her life for months after eating E. coli-tainted Nestle Tollhouse cookie dough:
Linda Rivera has just been trying to stay alive. Her cascading problems started about seven days after she ate the dough when her kidneys shut down and she went into septic shock. Then doctors had to remove part of her colon, which had become contaminated. Soon, her gallbladder was inflamed and had to be excised. Shortly after, her liver stopped functioning. It is unclear exactly what is causing her loss of speech, although the toxin produced by the E. coli O157:H7 bacteria can attack the brain.
Of all the victims, Rivera has spent the most time in hospitals -- about 120 days since May. She was recovering well enough at one point to go home for nine days but, during that reprieve, she had to be rushed to the emergency room three times.
It's now almost December. I was wondering - hoping - if Rivera was home safely with her family now, so I asked. The news was not great. She's still in the hospital but out of the ICU. She's no longer on a feeding tube, but she's still on a ventilator. She suffered a stroke as well as kidney and liver failure.
My thoughts and prayers are with Rivera and her family. This must be a very tough holiday season for them. |
