'Mushrooms Can Be Deadly'

[BlueMystic]

http://www.komotv.com/stories/43617.htm

'Mushrooms Can Be Deadly'

May 25, 2006

By Keith Eldridge


BREMERTON - Bremerton parents have a warning about a deadly substance could be within reach of you and your children.

Their toddler nearly died when she took a bite of a poisonous mushroom. Little Joey survived, but the danger still lurks.

Today, she looks like any happy, healthy 2-year-old. But two weeks ago, an ambulance rushed her to one hospital and then doctors airlifted her to another.

In her backyard, Joey found a potentially deadly Pantherine mushroom and ate a piece.

The poison attacked her kidneys and liver.

"And when they said 'airlift' you immediately think the worst," said Joey's mother, Kelly Micone. "I wasn't thinking she was going to come out of it."

Kelly felt helpless as she watched her daughter at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital.

"Oh, gosh. Her on the ventilator. The machine breathing for her. I mean she's normally so active that seeing her down like that just killed me," Kelly said.

After three agonizing days, Joey beat the poison, and she pulled through. There's no lasting harm to her body.

Kelly says the recent sun mixed with more rain is spurring mushroom growth. That means more danger if you don't know what you're doing.

"I just want parents to realize that mushrooms can be deadly," Kelly said. "Just treat every mushroom like it's poisonous until you have an identification from an expert."

Joey survived, but Kelly fears the next child might not be so fortunate.

"There's no antidote for mushrooms," she said.

The Washington Poison Center says there have been three mushroom poisonings in the Puget Sound area recently. All survived.