A man has spoken out about nearly dying after his wife cooked deadly mushrooms in his dinner – with a similar incident proving fatal for three people in Australia recently.
Erin Patterson, from Victoria, Australia, recently held a family lunch at her home, having invited former in-laws Gail and Don Patterson, both 70, as well as Mrs Patterson's sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, and her husband Reverend Ian Wilkinson, 68, to the beef wellington meal.
Tragedy struck when all four guests fell ill, with Mrs Wilkinson and Mrs Patterson both passing away on 5 August, followed by Mr Patterson the following day.
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Mr Wilkinson is still in hospital and is said to be in critical condition while he awaits a liver transplant.
Ms Patterson and her two kids, however, did not fall ill, with the children said to have eaten a different meal.
It is believed they died from mushroom poisoning, with an investigation now launched into the mysterious circumstances surrounding the deaths.
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In the wake of the tragic fatalities, Simon Claringbold has spoken out about suffering a similar incident back in 1998, having been a fit and healthy 39-year-old who ran marathons at the time.
However, just 18 hours after tucking into his wife’s spaghetti bolognese, he became violently ill and was eventually rushed to hospital.
Earlier that day, he had picked what he thought were field mushrooms in Canberra, but these turned out to be death caps – the same variety thought to have been in Mrs Patterson’s meal.
He told ABC’s 7/30: “Their toxin levels aren't going to be consistent; it's not like taking a pill out of a bottle.
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“Sometimes some will have more toxin than others and it was just a chance that you didn't ingest enough to overcome.”
Claringbold started suffering intense vomiting and diarrhoea and went to see his GP.
“He [the doctor] took one look at me and raced me to Canberra Hospital,” he said.
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“And my wife gave me a part of the mushroom in a paper bag and I took that with me as well.
“The liver specialist there looked at the mushrooms and basically said, ‘Oh yeah, that's a death cap mushroom’.
“I didn't even know that death cap mushrooms existed.”
After being airlifted to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, Claringbold was taken to the acute liver ward, where he began hallucinating and blacking out – and even ‘preparing for the end’.
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"I really thought it was the end," he added.
"The lights were starting to go out."
Thankfully, however, he eventually recovered and was discharged 11 days later.
Featured Image Credit: ABCTopics: News, World News, Australia, Food And Drink