Horse Whisperer author waiting for kidney transplant

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Writer, his wife and brother-in-law still on dialysis after eating poisonous mushrooms in 2008
Horse Whisperer author waiting for kidney transplant

By Stacey Horne

Published: 06/09/2010

A renowned author who became ill after eating poisonous mushrooms in Moray is still waiting for a kidney transplant.

Horse Whisperer author Nicholas Evans, 60, needs regular dialysis to keep him alive, as does his wife Charlotte Gordon Cumming, 52, and his brother-in-law Sir Alastair Gordon Cumming.

They fell ill in August 2008, with Sir Alastair’s wife Louisa, after eating a very poisonous species of mushroom called Cortinarius speciosissimus, also known as deadly webcap.

Mr Evans picked the mushrooms while staying at Sir Alastair’s Altyre Estate, near Forres.

Now, both men are waiting for a kidney transplant and doctors say Charlotte Gordon Cumming will need one in the future.

Louisa ate only a tiny amount of the mushrooms and she is the only one of the four who does not need dialysis. They all spent three weeks in hospital recovering from the poisoning.

Mr Evans, who lives in Devon, said: “Alastair and Charlotte began vomiting and suffering from diarrhoea. By early afternoon I started to feel unwell. It was obvious that it was something we had eaten and I picked out some mushrooms we’d discarded from the bin.

“I looked them up in the book. There it was, a perfect match to the one in my hand and labelled ‘deadly poisonous’. It was very scary, but we didn’t panic.

“Instead, I rang the botanical gardens in Edinburgh and was told to seek urgent medical help. The GP came, by which time our health was deteriorating very fast.

“He sent us to Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin. The doctors there realised the problem was our kidneys and the next morning we were transferred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, where they have a renal unit. I was horrifically sick and although I was given various drugs nothing worked. I thought I was going to die.”

All four adults suffered varying degrees of kidney damage and Mr Evans must endure five hours of dialysis every other day to stay alive. He has been waiting for a transplant since early 2009.

Mr Evans said: “All my older children and some friends have offered me one of their kidneys.

“I haven’t accepted for different reasons.

“Once I have the transplant I will be fine.”


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