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Jed Boal Reporting Fourteen people sickened recently by E. coli are here in Utah. A seven-year-old boy in Murray who ate the tainted spinach is finally feeling better.
His family is considering legal action following the three-week battle. They say they don't want this to happen to other kids.
The family was eating a lot of spinach salad. Ironically, the very food they thought would make their boy better, made him sicker instead.
Braden Leafty is back on his bike, and feeling a bit better. For 20 days, the E. coli bacteria beat up his system.
Braden Leafty/ E. coli Victim: "It felt like your stomach was going to explode."
At first he had diarrhea. His mom gave him stomach medicine and sent him to school.
Braden Leafty/E. coli Victim: "First I was out of school, and then I had to go to the bathroom 100 million times."
At the end of the first week of school it was worse. The next day he experienced vomiting, and blood when he went to the bathroom. That prompted the first trip to the hospital.
Sheila Leafty/Braden's Mother: "He was dehydrated. They put i.v.s in him, stopped the cramping, and stopped the vomiting."
Doctors sent him home. It got even worse. He went back to the hospital. Braden had E. coli.
The family was eating a lot of leafy greens and spinach, but the nationwide outbreak had not yet surfaced.
The health department is helping Sheila Leafty track down the source. Ultimately, Braden was slated for surgery until he had a great turn-around, and made it back to school.
Braden Leafty/E. coli Victim: "When they told me I had to have surgery today I was scared."
Braden lost eight to ten pounds on his slight frame, and lost three weeks at school. The medical bills are starting to arrive.
Sheila Leafty/Braden's Mother: "I'm still wondering, is this going to last? It's scary. I don't feel like it's over."
And for once, these parents will listen when Braden says no more spinach. He has something else in mind.
"Pancakes and ice cream," he says.
Three days without sickness. Three days back at school, and the family will feel better.
Sheila Leafty's lawyer told her that this is a recurring problem in every state, that's why she may take part in a class action lawsuit that's percolating.
