Colorado Teen's Fast Food Habit Leads to Kidney Failure

A teen from Colorado fell seriously ill after regularly eating Quarter Pounders with cheese from McDonald's. It turned out she had a severe E. coli infection that damaged her kidneys. The bacteria were linked to the slivered onions on the burger, part of a larger outbreak that affected many people. The teen, Kamberlyn Bowler, initially thought she had the flu when she started feeling sick. But her symptoms got worse, including vomiting and bloody diarrhea. Doctors first thought it might be her appendix. When her kidneys began to fail, they discovered the real cause: a rare complication from an E. coli infection.

She was rushed to a hospital 250 miles away for urgent medical care. Doctors found out she had been regularly eating Quarter Pounders in the weeks before getting sick. Bowler is one of many people believed to have fallen ill from the same outbreak. McDonald’s has faced lawsuits over this issue. The company says customer safety is important to them. Bowler's mom worries about the long-term effects on her daughter's health.

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