One person died in severe McDonald’s E. coli outbreak that affected more people in Colorado more than any other state. The victim, J.C. Smith, 88, lives in Grand Junction, and his family there said they are heartbroken.
“All he wanted was to enjoy a burger with his wife. He believes in these restaurants and all we want is for his dad to come back.” said daughter Debbie Bohnell.
smith family
The occurrence is connected with onions Used in McDonald’s Quarter Pounder Sandwich. Investigators believe the onions came from a Taylor Farms distribution facility in Colorado Springs. The onions were pulled from affected McDonald’s stores, and Taylor Farms recalled yellow sliced onions that were sent to other food service providers.
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Thirteen states have reported 90 cases, with Colorado reporting 26 cases and tracing infections back to the outbreak. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says most people recover From Escherichia colibut some of you may have seen it. severe complications. So did Smith, whose full name was James Charles Smith, at first.
Smith was a regular customer at McDonald’s.
J.C. Smith and his wife, Doris, often went out to dinner in western Colorado, often visiting the same McDonald’s not far from their home. They ordered the same dish each time, a Quarter Pounder.
Bornell said he eventually became ill and was hospitalized after a visit in late September.
After four days there, he was released. Doctors said laboratory tests revealed an E. coli infection. His daughter met with the Mesa County Health Department before leaving.
“(Health department officials) asked, ‘Where did your parents eat?’ Because there was some kind of outbreak,” Bornell said. “But they weren’t going to say where yet.”
Shortly after that hospitalization, Smith went back to McDonald’s and had another Quarter Pounder. This time, the symptoms came back and when I went to the hospital, he passed away. His death was on October 20th.
Smith is likely one of the first people identified as testing positive for E. coli during the nationwide outbreak.
strong and loving man
Bornell said her father was a Marine Corps veteran and never slowed down in his life.
She also said that before she got sick, she just wanted to go and do things, even though she was told she couldn’t move her legs very well.
smith family
He grew up in Mississippi, worked as a firefighter and then became a postal worker. The couple moved to Colorado in the 1980s. He was a small business owner in Colorado and later served as maintenance manager at Vail Run Resort. He moved back south for a time, but then returned to Mesa County.
This year marks JC and Doris’ 70th wedding anniversary. They still enjoy traveling together and playing with their great-grandchildren.
“He was just a loving man. He was compassionate. If he had to be tough, he didn’t want to be on that side,” said his son Jim Smith.
He had onions, she didn’t.
Smith and his wife always ate Quarter Pounders at McDonald’s, but Doris doesn’t like onions.
“I rummaged through my things and gave him some,” Doris said. “I feel guilty now because I gave him an onion.”
Doris said she called her daughter on Oct. 3 to let her know that JC, who was usually strong, had suddenly become weak.
“Your father is very dizzy and doesn’t want to get out of bed. He’s worried he’s going to fall,” she said, recalling the phone conversation.
Vaughn said he immediately went to his parents’ home.
“They were up all night. He was in the bathroom every 10 minutes, had bloody diarrhea and was very weak,” she said. “When I got here, he was so weak he couldn’t even walk.”
After four days in the hospital, the family didn’t know there were certain restaurants to avoid.
“There was some kind of fad, so she just asked me, ‘Where did my parents eat?'” Bonnell said.
“She’s not telling us not to eat out anymore,” Doris said of health officials.
When JC got sick again after eating at McDonald’s, this time it got worse.
“We watched him for days in excruciating pain, flailing his arms and legs. It was very painful,” Bornell said. “I held his hand and prayed and told him to rest and say, ‘We are here with you,’ ‘We have help for you.’ ”
Two days after JC’s death, health authorities reported the outbreak to the public.
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“I never expected my father to pass away so soon,” Jim Smith said.
“We still had a lot of plans,” he said.
Smith’s grandson, Jim, said the family is angry and wonders if more could have been done to save their loved one. But the reason they decided to speak publicly about what happened is because they are concerned about the health of others.
“If you’re in that job and you lose your level of concern or become complacent, accidents happen. Then you’re held accountable. And people’s loved ones… “When you’re talking about taking away and changing their lives, eternal life, others need to know,” he said.
The Smiths have not filed any lawsuits against McDonald’s or anyone else involved. Now they say all they want is for the man they love to return.
