"On February 3rd I had just finished dinner and had a few crackers with peanut butter when I felt naseous," says Deiglish. "Around 9pm I started to throw up and had diarrhea and I didn't get out of the bathroom until my wife drove me to the hospital at 2am.
I couldn't even walk into the ER I was so sick. I went through two bags of IV and had a shot for nausea. They kept me there for a few hours and took two vials of blood; all they said was that I probably had a stomach virus. By the time we got home I was exhausted and still had severe abdominal cramps. I missed a few days work and lost about 7 pounds - I couldn't eat anything for at least two days.
Because the hospital told me I probably had a virus, the only thing I could do was to wait it out. The worst was over and I was slowly recovering and didn't give it another thought. But then I got a call from my mother-in-law.
I found out about the peanut butter recall from her; she saw the recall on TV and knew how much I liked peanut butter - and I had a jar at her place. The broadcaster actually mentioned my town - Athol - because the local grocery store carried that particular recall number. I checked the jar at home and sure enough it had lot number 2111 on the lid. Then I went online and found a lawyer - I have a $1,200 hospital bill.
I want to get what I deserve - and one point I was so sick I wanted to die; I want restitution for having to go through this ordeal."
Atlanta, GA: Gary Kier also ate Peter Pan peanut butter. "At the end of January I was so sick that I had diarrhea and was vomiting for about 36 hours," he says. "I barely made it to my doctor's office. He immediately put me on an IV and did some blood tests as well as x-rays because he thought I had intestinal blockage. I got a prescription and he sent me home. The test results came back negative - no bacteria. Several days later I became ill again - I was still eating peanut butter.
At this point I was really worried - what could be wrong with me? I had been sick three times. On Valentine's Day I found out about the recall on the morning news. I grabbed the jar of peanut butter and sure enough it had the numbers they were recalling - 2111. I was actually relieved because I finally knew what was wrong with me.
I thought I had food poisoning of some sort but didn't know where it came from.
On my first visit to the doctor, I was unable to provide a stool sample - diarrhea and vomiting was so severe. But on the second visit I was able to provide a stool sample and I told my doctor about the peanut butter recall. By this time they also knew about it. I was finally treated for salmonella poisoning with powerful antibiotics.
I have never been so ill in my entire life. I was so weak and sick that I missed work for three weeks. I think I should at least get compensated for lost wages, my doctor's expenses and my physical discomfort. Not knowing what was wrong was scary. I hardly ever go out to eat so it was really hard to pinpoint. Who would ever think that harmless peanut butter would be the culprit?"
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