PAWHUSKA, OK (KJRH) — A Memorial Day weekend trip to the lake left 10 children in a single family exposed to E. coli. One of them, an 8 year old with Stage Three Chronic Kidney Disease, had to be rushed to OU Children’s Hospital for nearly three weeks.
After two weeks and five days, Landon Bickford returned to his Pawhuska home with his mom Amanda. It ended what felt like a lifetime in the hospital, with Landon going through dialysis seven times.
"Being told you’re going to be in an ambulance in 10 minutes or life flight to bring you to Oklahoma City, and riding down there with your kid, is scary," Amanda said.
Landon was swimming with his cousins at Bluestem Lake in Osage County. Amanda says 10 of the kids experienced the same exact symptoms after swimming in the lake, but Landon was hit hardest as his kidneys were already weak.
“I was like please, anything and everything, just let my baby be OK," Amanda said. "And the love and support that we have got from everybody just feels not real. I wake up every day and feel so blessed to have my family.”
After weeks of being unable to work, Amanda set up a fundraiser on Facebook. She says after two hours, there was $2,000 pledged to the family.
“I know what we’re going through is hard, and I know it’s going to be hard to get where we need to be, but I don’t have a worry in the world," Amanda said, "because of prayer, and the Lord.”
The OU football team even showed up to support Landon in the hospital. A huge Oklahoma fan, Landon says he got to meet his heroes.
Now, Amanda is working to buy a bacteria self-controlled swimming pool, uneasy about letting him swim in uncontrolled bodies of water. Her Facebook post reads:
"If you would like to sponsor 'LANDON'S OWN BACTERIA SELF-CONTROLLED SWIMMING POOL' (can't go to the lake anytime soon) by purchasing a shirt or shirts.. Please contact Kim Borneman (if in the Jones,ok area), Jacquie Weathers (if in the Ponca City,ok area), and Melissa Hendren and/or Leslie Matozo (if in the Pawhuska,ok area) to place order then will send out invoices for payment."
The prices are below:
Youth:
XS-L - $20
Adult:
S-XL - $22
2XL - $24
3XL - $25
4XL - $26
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