A family were left devastated after a holiday ended with their two-year-old temporarily blinded and non verbal before being placed in a coma after a horrendous bout of food poisoning
A family’s holiday to Egypt ended with their two-year-old daughter fighting for her life.
The young child, Chloe Crook, suffered a bout of severe food poisoning which induced a coma and forced her onto emergency dialysis. She and her family were staying at the five-star Jaz Aquaviva resort in Hurghada, Egypt, in July of this year. They had hoped for a relaxing break but a couple of days in, Chloe started suffering severe symptoms.
These included bloody diarrhoea, vomiting, fatigue and stomach cramps. Her parents rushed her to hospital, where she went temporarily blind and nonverbal.
Tests revealed that Chloe’s kidneys weren’t working properly and as a result, she underwent emergency dialysis while in a semi-sedated state.
Further tests revealed that Chloe had Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome (HUS), which is a potentially fatal blood condition that’s linked to the E. coli bacteria, which can also lead to brain damage.
Once the family had returned to the UK, the toddler was put into a coma for a period of four days, before she then developed pneumonia and blood clots in her neck and arm.
Chloe’s mum Megan, 34, explained that since the tot was discharged from hospital she’s become a ‘totally different girl’ and now needs help to move around and has ‘nightmares’ that stem from the awful experience she endured.
She said: “She used to be very social and loved going to nursery, but now she shies away from interacting with people outside her immediate circle. She’s also started having nightmares about being in hospital; waking up screaming and shouting “no,” repeatedly and it’s horrible to see how affected she is.
Megan added that her daughter was ‘traumatised’ by the experience, with the whole family finding it incredibly difficult to ‘come to terms with what’s happened’. Along with Chloe’s Dad Alex, 40, Megan has instructed ‘serious injury lawyers at legal firm Irwin Mitchell to investigate their daughter’s illness’.
Jennifer Hodgson, a lawyer from the company, said: “The family’s holiday turned into nothing short of a nightmare after Chloe fell ill. They understandably have many questions and concerns over how she went on to develop E. coli, and the subsequent complications as a result of developing HUS.