It’s 9:29 a.m. on a Thursday, and a woman named Becky in Lebanon, Kan., just posted a photo on Facebook of her sick 4-year-old daughter. Nobody is sure what the problem is. The symptoms are odd and it’s not getting better despite the doctor’s best efforts. They’re hoping the lab results will shed some light on this unusual illness.
Later that night, Becky heard from several other moms in the area via Facebook that their children are having similar symptoms. Concern continues to grow with few answers. The next morning, Becky and her growing tribe of connected mothers discovered that at least 19 children in Kansas and Nebraska are experiencing the same symptoms. Her daughter’s lab results are in, too. All signs point back to something the child ate.