The parents of an eight-year-old girl say she is battling a rare kidney disease after swimming at a public pool.
Sadie Cameron, from Fargo, North Dakota, was having a fun day at the pool with her mother in July when, suddenly she started complaining that her stomach hurt and began vomiting.
She was rushed to see a doctor, who diagnosed her with an E. coli infection that she is believed to have contracted at the pool, reported Valley News Live.
Two days later, Sadie was only getting worse and was so hospitalized for dehydration.
It was then that doctors found that the infection had caused kidney damage, leaving Sadie dependent on dialysis and likely needing an organ transplant in the future.
Sadie Cameron, eight (left and right), from Fargo, North Dakota, was swimming at a public pool with her mother in July when she became sick. She visited a doctor who diagnosed her with a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) infection, which she likely contracted from the pool
Two days later, on July 19, Sadie was hospitalized at Sanford Medical Center in Fargo after she showed no signs of improving. Pictured: Sadie (left) with her sister Callie (center) and her mother Katie (right) during dialysis
After her first symptoms appeared, on July 17, Sadie was taken to see a doctor, who diagnosed her with a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) infection.
These infections come from E. coli (Escherichia coli), which are bacteria that generally live in the intestines of healthy people and animals.
Most strains are harmless but a few produce a powerful toxin, called Shiga toxin, which damages the lining of the small intestine.
Infections occur when people come into contact with the feces of humans or animals or eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water.
Doctors told Sadie’s parents that she had likely contracted E. coli while she was at the public swimming pool.
‘One day makes a big difference,’ her mother, Katie, told Valley News Live. ‘It kind of turned our lives upside down.’
Two days later, on July 19, Sadie was hospitalized at Sanford Medical Center after experiencing symptoms such as diarrhea, according to a CaringBridge page.
Doctors determined she was extremely dehydrated and hooked her up to an IV.
After running tests, the medical team discovered Sadie’s condition was much worse and diagnosed her with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
HUS is a type of kidney failure, marked by an abnormal destruction of blood platelets and red blood cells.
The damaged blood cells can clog the kidneys’ filtering system, resulting in life-threatening kidney failure, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Sadie (left and right) was diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure that often results from STEC infections. She was transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Sanford Children’s Hospital in Sioux Falls so she could start dialysis
Currently, Sadie travels to Minneapolis for dialysis twice a week and will likely need a kidney transplant in the future. Pictured: Sadie (center) with her father Topher (left) and her sister Callie (right)
Anyone can develop HUS, but it most commonly occurs in young children after being infected by certain strains of E. coli.
The Shiga toxins had attached to receptors on white blood cells in the intestine, which allowed them to travel to the kidneys.
HUS as a result of an STEC infection is estimated to occur in one to three per 100,000 people in the general population, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders.
Sadie was transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Sanford Children’s Hospital in Sioux Falls so she could start dialysis.
‘It was pretty scary,’ Katie told Valley News Live. ‘It’s pretty traumatic to see that [happen to] your own child.’
At one point, Sadie was 24-hour dialysis but now the family travels to Minneapolis for the treatment twice a week for three hours a time.
Her medical team has told her parents that, down the road, Sadie will likely need a kidney transplant.
‘Everybody said she was a healthy young girl and she’ll bounce back and she has,’ Katie told Valley News Live.
