Girl declared brain-dead after eating hemlock
Posted on 03/13/2002 4:53:54 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Girl declared brain-dead after eating hemlock
Second Dallas teen who samples the plant makes full recovery
03/13/2002
A Dallas girl who ate hemlock has been declared brain-dead, hospital officials said Tuesday.
Catherine Vanstone, 13, was among a group of Dallas-area girls spending spring break at Perennial Vacation Club just outside Bandera, about 40 miles west of San Antonio.
She found the hemlock along a riverbed during a nature hike.
Bandera County Sheriff James MacMillan said Catherine and another girl went for a walk Sunday afternoon along the Medina River. They found and ate some of a plant that looked like celery.
Dr. Miguel Fernández, director for the South Texas Poison Center and a board-certified medical toxicologist, spoke Tuesday with the other girl.
"She said she ate a handful, but ... [Catherine] ate more," Dr. Fernández said.
Both girls began experiencing tingling in their hands and feet, felt dizzy and could not tolerate light, he said. Catherine's tongue swelled, making it difficult for her to breathe, and she lost consciousness. The other girl has recovered.
Sheriff MacMillan estimated that it was a few hours between the time the girls ate the plant and when 911 was called, about 9 p.m. Catherine was flown to University Hospital in San Antonio.
"It's a terrible thing that happened. I don't think anyone knew these girls were eating these plants," he said. "I've been here 20 years and we haven't had anybody under this situation."
Tony Ronquillo, community relations manager of Texas Organ Sharing Alliance, said Catherine's parents have decided to donate her organs.
Catherine was still on a respirator Tuesday afternoon to keep her organs viable. Mr. Ronquillo said it would be 12 to 18 hours before they could take her to surgery.
Dr. Fernández said that it is unclear why the other girl did not get as sick. He said Catherine probably suffered an allergic reaction.
Dr. Fernández said there were only six deaths out of 106,385 reported plant exposure cases nationwide in 2000. None of those deaths was caused by hemlock. These numbers are similar to 1999, when only four deaths out of 113,864 cases were reported.
"Death is pretty rare," Dr. Fernández said.
Hemlock, which resembles the top leafy part of a carrot, is found near waterways across North America. Symptoms can include dry mouth, blurry vision, dilated pupils, confusion, frightening hallucinations and dry, flushed skin.
If someone eats hemlock, 911 or poison control (1-800-222-1222) should be called immediately.
E-mail hwarren@dallasnews.com
When we used to go camping, my dad used to pick and fry up wild mushrooms. Thankfully he never had any trouble. He had learned the skill as a boy growing up in Poland. I never had any desire to learn the skill though.
I'll pass on her liver, thank you.
"I drank what?"
Dear Bill,Please go to this link at the Dallas Morning News. http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews/stories/031302dnmethemlock.88e21.html
We now have hemlock in virtually every watershed in this area. It doesn't kill the quail that eat the seed, but it does kill what eats the quail. It's nasty stuff. It comes from the Middle East. The pollen causes birth defects.
There are thousands of tons of it all along Highway 1. Environmental preservationists took over farms and let them be overrun with hemlock. It's spreading fast. The seed lasts ten years in soil. Are they going to get rid of it?
Do you pull it and remove it in your neighborhood?
I do.
Do you remove it around schools?
I do, but I can't do it all.
Did you know that it is all around the "nature pond" at our local school?
Want to help?
It looks very similar to Queen Anne's Lace, which the kids like to play with. Other children have been known to use the dry stalks as pea shooters with the seed and died. I told the desk at the school about it, but they didn't do anything.
I wonder why?
I sent a note to the owner of the local paper a couple of years ago, but he didn't print it.
I wonder why?
He does print glowing reports about County mowers holding down the brush and weeds and certainly gives your articles about the evils and dangers of herbicides top billing. He prints your meeting announcements and fans the hysteria about the unsubstantiated threats of herbicides to water quality. These weeds are more toxic than any herbicide we could use. The County mowers spread the seed, thanks to people like you. Read it and weep, and don't say I didn't tell you that this would happen years ago.
Good catch. The landowner clearly failed to take this precaution. The lawyers are probably already on the way.
Who among us today holds his principles so strongly?
Someday, the ecologists of the future may well hold our generation in as much contempt as many now view those of the past; but perhaps not for the reasons many environmentalists might suspect.
Who among us today holds his principles so strongly?
Alex Baldwin (/sarcasm)
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