By Associated Press
Huntsville AL – Nearly a month after going to the hospital for kidney failure caused by E. coli poisoning, 5-year-old Samuel Coggin is back home and recovering nicely.
The boy is one of 19 people who fell ill in an E. coli outbreak linked to Little Rosie's Taqueria in Huntsville. Public health officials said contaminated lettuce served over four days at the end of June was likely the cause of the outbreak.
Samuel, who will enter kindergarten in the fall, had stomach cramps and bloody diarrhea shortly after having chicken fajitas at Little Rosie's on June 28.
He spent about three weeks on dialysis at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Tennessee while being treated.
The Huntsville Times reported Wednesday that two other E. coli victims remain hospitalized with kidney problems. Regina Lassiter, 69, of Huntsville is at Memorial Mission Hospital in Asheville, N.C. A 48-year-old woman whose name has not been released is in serious condition in the medical intensive care unit at Huntsville Hospital.
Samuel was discharged from the hospital Sunday, and his kidneys are nearly back to normal. His mother, Rene' Coggin, said the boy is still about five pounds lighter than he was before the illness and hasn't completely regained his appetite.
He is to return to Nashville Friday for a checkup to make sure his kidneys are working well. If the exam doesn't reveal any additional problems, Coggin said, he probably won't have to go back for another year.