A mum says the World Health Organisation are helping investigate after her son's 'Egypt belly' during an EasyJet family holiday turned out to be E. coli – that caused his kidneys to fail.
Caroline Lawton jetted off to Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt with her husband Ross, 43, daughter Lola, 14, son Jude, 10, and four other family members for 12 nights in the sun. But the day before the group of eight were due to fly home from their EasyJet all-inclusive package holiday, she claims her son Jude developed an upset stomach.
Initial symptoms and rapid deterioration
At first, the mum-of-two believed he was suffering with 'Egypt belly' but when he began to pass fresh blood in his stools on June 7, she started to panic and booked a GP appointment. At the GP practice Jude's condition deteriorated and he was admitted to hospital, placed in a seclusion room and later tested positive for STEC E.coli – a bacterial infection that causes bloody diarrhoea, stomach cramps and fever.
When doctors confirmed Jude's infection had developed into the potentially fatal haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), he was rushed to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool. Doctors said Jude's kidneys had completely failed so he began dialysis treatment and underwent a blood transfusion to try and get his kidneys to work again.
Recovery and concerns
After two weeks of treatment, Jude's kidney function slowly began to improve and he was discharged on July 6, to continue his recovery at home. Caroline says Jude only ate outside of the hotel once during the 12-day trip.
Caroline, from Warrington, Cheshire, said: "He started feeling genuinely unwell on Saturday [June 6]. He had loose stools but genuinely nothing concerning, we thought he had just got a little bit of 'Egypt belly'. On Sunday we were due to fly home and he was going to the toilet a little more often and didn't want to go in the pool."
"My concern mainly started when we got to the airport. He started being tired, didn't want to walk and was back and forth to the toilet. It was on the plane that I first noticed the fresh blood in his stool and I did start to panic."
"He started shaking and he was freezing cold, the air staff increased the temperature on the whole aircraft to try and warm him up. [In hospital], he started to puff up and he was swollen, he couldn't even open his eyes properly."
"The renal consultant came to chat to us and this is when we began to realise the severity of the situation that his kidney function was quickly declining. At this point he hadn't had a wee for 24 hours. It was so scary and at this point he still hadn't eaten anything [since June 6]."
"As soon as he woke up and came around from surgery, he was wheeled straight into dialysis as at this point his kidneys had completely failed. He last had dialysis on June 22 and this is when we started to see the changes."
"A couple of days later the doctor said his kidneys were starting to stir and wake up. Each day his blood continued to improve slightly and was going for a wee more."
Long-term outlook and awareness
Caroline's unsure about the long-term effects the E.coli has had and says he will be closely monitored for the next five years.
Caroline said: "We were absolutely hysterical when they told us Jude was being discharged and he was getting to come home. Obviously, there were a lot of tears but we did this away from him. He was going through the most horrific time, he didn't need his parents crying at his bedside. When he was discharged, it was just pure elation."
As Jude continues to recover at home, Caroline is raising awareness about what her son has been through to stop it from happening to any other families. Caroline said: "First of all, go with your gut. If you notice blood in a stool or they stop passing urine or start swelling in their ankles or eyes, you should get this checked out."
"I didn't share the story until Jude was home. I was in too bad of a situation and I was concerned I was going to lose my little boy. Jude is doing well but he's still not out of the woods and we've got a long road ahead of us."
"I wanted to spread awareness to stop any other families going through this as it's been very traumatic."
Investigation
Since returning home, Caroline says she has reached out to EasyJet and the hotel about Jude falling ill. She claims she's yet to hear back from the hotel, but EasyJet and WHO have been in touch to investigate. Caroline said: "At the moment, we're no further on with where it came from, I don't have a clue how Jude contracted it. We booked through EasyJet and the World Health Organisation have been in contact with me. EasyJet are investigating and they have contacted me to check in and see how Jude is and they've been really good."
An easyJet holidays spokesperson said: "We're really sorry that Jude has been unwell. We have been in regular contact with Jude's family and are continuing to offer them any support and assistance they need. We are working closely with our hotel partner to carry out a thorough investigation into what happened."
WHO has been contacted for comment.
