Excuse the poor quality, I snapped this back in April at Abby's 17th birthday using the phone's camera. She is my other half's youngest. She was working this summer for my sister and brother-in-law when she took ill. Initially we thought it was the flu, but after a couple of days and her getting no better, she was taken to the hospital for testing. Abby was diagnosed with Shigellosis, which is somewhat related to E. Coli, but more aggressive. As a result, she also developed Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome where the body, while attacking the Shigella bacteria also starts to attack the infected organs in this case her kidneys and colon are taking the brunt of it. they immediately moved her to ICU, where she has been for the last ten days. Fortunately, we were able to get her mother on (literally) the last flight out of Seattle for Indianapolis the same night, so she was there Tuesday morning. The primary treatment has been to cycle out her plasma, clean it, and add blood platelets to bolster the low plate count resulting from the HUS. Today was round #6 of that procedure, along with a couple of blood transfusions. It looks like she will be in ICU for quite a while as they are still assessing if any permanent damages occurred to her kidneys or colon, plus additional regular hospital time recovering to be stabilized enough before we can get her back to Seattle. Ironically, this was Abby's first real adventure out and away from home, her first airplane ride, and first job. The source has still not been determined. Thoughts and prayers appreciated. I have attached reference links regard both conditions below and we have also set up a Care Page at the hospital web site which can be visited (you need to login and create a visitor account) regarding her status. Shigellosis www.cdc.gov/nczved/dfbmd/disease_listing/shigellosis_gi.html Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) www.cdc.gov/search.do?q=hemolytic+uremic+syndrome&spell=1&ie=utf8 Abby's Care Page www.carepages.com/carepages/AbbyZStatus