A 4-year-old Oregon girl has died from complications of an E.coli infection she contracted Labor Day weekend. Serena Profitt was surrounded by her family and friends when she was removed from life support at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital around 9:30 p.m. last night.
“She’s the most vibrant young girl ever; she’s just sweet loving and so amazing, so smart, just a heart that is of gold,” aunt Aleahsa Hargitt, told Fox 12 News.
Serena became sick after a visit to Lincoln City. Her family brought her to a hospital in McMinnville. After she went into kidney failure, she was rushed to Doernbecher where she was diagnosed with E. coli. She seemed fine on Sunday morning, but suffered a stroke at 4:00 p.m.
Serena was suffering from hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a complication that develops in about 15 percent of pediatric cases of E.coli infection. Her family told Fox 12 that it advanced to her brain and shut down her organs.
A boy on the Lincoln City trip has been hospitalized in Tacoma. The Lincoln County Health Department is investigating.
“I just want people to know that E. coli is something you can’t even imagine how bad it is, how fast-acting it is. You think one minute your baby is OK, and in the blink of an eye, it can be so wrong,” Hargitt told Fox 12. “Take your kids in, make sure the tests are done and they are really done right.”
