Colorado teenager battles kidney failure after eating McDonald's Quarter Pounder

A 15-year-old high school freshman is hospitalized with severe complications of food poisoning after eating three McDonald's quarter-pounder hamburgers a few weeks ago. A fatal e. coli outbreak was detected.

Cumberlyn Bowler of Grand Junction, Colorado, had to be flown 250 miles away in mid-October to a hospital near Denver, where she received dialysis for 10 days in an emergency attempt to save her kidneys.

He is one of at least 75 sickened and 22 hospitalized in the outbreak attributed to contaminated onions. In Mesa County, where Cumberlin lives, 11 people have become ill and one has died. Federal health officials said Chopped onion A potential source of the outbreak is used in burgers.

The ordeal left Cumberlin's mother, Brittany Randall, worried about her daughter's health and shocked at the idea that a burger could possibly cause so much damage.

“It's so scary that we put so much faith and trust that we're going to eat something that's healthy and for it to fall apart,” Randall said.

Cumberlin went on to sue the fast-food chain after being infected E. coli O157:H7 bacteria Confirmed in the outbreak.

These bacteria produce a dangerous toxin that can cause a serious kidney disease complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome, according to medical experts. Many children remain hospitalized for weeks and some require kidney transplants, said Dr. Maida Khalid, a kidney specialist at Riley Hospital in Indiana who was not involved in Cumberlin's care.

Khalid said, “Time is very important. “We have to go through this window and we have to go through it very carefully,” he said.

The condition can be fatal, but most children eventually recover, he said.

Cumberlin said he ate McDonald's Quarter Pounders with cheese, extra pickles — and onions — three times — from Sept. 27 to Oct. 8.

Over the next few days he began to feel ill and experienced fever, vomiting, diarrhea and excruciating abdominal pain.

“I couldn't get out of bed,” she recalls. “I couldn't eat. I couldn't drink. I lived on popsicles. I felt like an idiot.”

Randall, who works as a prison guard, has three grown children and thought his young daughter might have the flu. But when Cumberlin texted to say she had blood in her stool and urine and was vomiting blood, Randall said she knew it was serious.

On October 11, Cumberlin visited a hospital in Grand Junction. Doctors said that he may have stomach problem. He was sent home with instructions to stay hydrated. By October 17, he was not feeling well and returned to the emergency room. At the time, tests showed that Cumberlin had acute kidney failure, his mother said. She was taken to Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora, near Denver, where she remained Tuesday.

McDonald's Chairman, President and CEO Chris Kempczynski apologized for the outbreak in a conference call with investors on Tuesday.

“Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our customers,” Kempsinksi said. “The recent spate of E. coli cases is deeply concerning, and the reports of how it has affected our customers have been embarrassing to us.”

Randall said her daughter's future health — and medical expenses — are uncertain.

“Hospital bills are going up,” he said. “And I'm a single mom and I don't know if I'm going to be able to handle all of this. And I don't know what the future holds.”

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