Girl in salmonella lawsuit gets kidney

[okarol]

Girl in salmonella lawsuit gets kidney

Tue Jun 19, 12:32 AM ET

An 11-year-old girl whose family says she became ill after eating peanut butter contaminated with salmonella received a kidney donated by her father on Monday.

Krystina Brugh and her father, John Brugh Jr., were both doing well after more than four hours of surgery at University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago, hospital spokeswoman Sherri McGinnis Gonzalez said.

"Everything went well, as expected," she said. "The father and the daughter are both recovering and doing well and her kidney is functioning. That is the best news."

The Lowell, Ind., family's attorney, Kenneth Allen, said Krystina remained in intensive care several hours after the surgery.

"It appears at this time that his kidney is not being rejected by her, but we have to hold our breath for about 48 hours to see whether the rejection antibodies form," Allen said. "It looks like this will have a relatively happy ending except she's still going to have to take medication for the rest of her life."

Krystina's parents last week filed a federal lawsuit in Hammond, Ind., seeking unspecified damages against foodmaker ConAgra Foods Inc.

Omaha, Neb.-based ConAgra recalled all its peanut butter in February after government investigators linked an outbreak of salmonella to the company's Peter Pan and Great Value brands. More than 600 people in 47 states reported becoming ill, and the company faces lawsuits in several states.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070619/ap_on_re_us/peanut_butter_lawsuit_1

[okarol]

Kidney transplant patient struggling

June 22, 2007
By Elizabeth Dilts Post-Tribune staff writer

Krysten Brugh is not out of the woods yet.

Krysten received a kidney transplant from her father, John Brugh, Monday at University of Illinois-Chicago hospital.

According to family attorney Ken Allen, she's experiencing fevers and hasn't yet been able to pass fluids.

The Brugh family contends that Krysten fell ill in January from salmonella-tainted Peter Pan peanut butter and suffered renal failure. She's been on dialysis since.

The Brugh family filed a federal lawsuit against ConAgra Foods Inc., makers of Peter Pan peanut butter last week.

John Brugh was scheduled to be released today at about noon.

The Brughs' surgeons told Allen that John was healthier leaving the hospital with one kidney than he was when he entered with two.

Although Krysten's symptoms are worrisome, they're not unusual, Allen said. Her body needs time to adapt to a foreign organ.

According the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, ustransplant.org, the survival rate for a UIC patient's first year is 100 percent, with only one patient from 2003 and 2005 needing another transplant.

When Krysten is discharged, she will have to take anti-rejection medications for the rest of her life to ensure her body doesn't reject the kidney.

John Brugh was unavailable for comment.

Contact Elizabeth Dilts at 477-6012 or at edilts@post-trib.com

http://www.post-trib.com/news/439114,vkidneyfolo.article

[goofynina]

Thank you Okarol for the update, Please God, be with this family and get this young girl healthy so she is able to live a somewhat normal life.   Amen

[Black]

Thank you Okarol for the update, Please God, be with this family and get this young girl healthy so she is able to live a somewhat normal life.   Amen

AMEN!

[st789]

Wow, I hope they win the lawsuit because the girl has to deal with kidney condition for the remaining of her life.

I can see $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ settlement.  I do not mean this as to say any amount of money would be adequate for the family.

How ironic, a close friend of my works for one of the Congra plant in California as a Food Safety Coordinator.  I think he must have heard of this story.