Little Chloe Crook was put into a coma and left needing dialysis after she developed food poisoning while staying at a luxury Egyptian holiday resort with her family
A two-year-old girl suffered a blood clot and was placed into an induced coma after a severe bout of food poisoning at an all-inclusive holiday resort.
Little Chloe Crook travelled to the five-star Jaz Aquaviva resort in Hurghada, Egypt, with her parents back in July. But a couple of days after the family arrived, she began exhibiting a range of gastric symptoms, including bloody diarrhoea, vomiting, fatigue and stomach cramps.
The toddler was rushed to hospital, where she temporarily went blind and became non-verbal, before bruising began to appear under the skin on her head. 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.
“E. coli is extremely serious and can result in long-term health problems, which is potentially the case with Chloe. If, during the course of our investigations, any issues are identified, action needs to be taken to reduce the risk of other holidaymakers falling ill in the future.”
She said: “When we were in Egypt, she was in so much pain and was only given paracetamol as relief. The standard of care was nowhere near what we would have expected, and we kept being told that Chloe had gastroenteritis. We had to push for more tests to be done, as we knew there was something very wrong with our daughter. It was so distressing for Alex and me to see her like that and know that we couldn’t do anything; we felt completely helpless.
She went on: “To find out that it was E. coli and HUS was a huge shock to us. We have read reports on tragic cases of this where children have been brain damaged or lost their life due to this horrific illness and we were terrified.
Megan added that finding out that Chloe was ‘suffering an acute kidney injury’ and needed to be put into an induced coma due to having seizures, was ‘horrifying’. Now, almost four months after the trip, which was booked through tour operator TUI, Chloe remains on anti-seizure medication, blood thinners, and various other medications, and will need annual check-ups to her kidney function.
Jaz Aquaviva Resort has been contacted for comment.
