On a summer day in California, 17-month-old Brooklyn Marris vomited all over the backseat of the family car.<\/p>\n
Over the next two days, she continued to vomit \u201cyellow bile\u201d then \u201cblue-green.\u201d Doctors sent her to the ER, which quickly determined she needed serious help at a children\u2019s hospital 70 miles away.<\/p>\n
Brooklyn was put on a ventilator for breathing and dialysis to take over for her failing kidneys. She went into cardiac arrest three times. Her parents didn\u2019t know if she\u2019d survive, ProPublica reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n Doctors confirmed that Brooklyn was sickened with a dangerous strain of E. coli, a bacteria her parents believe it came from a drink they\u2019d given her for about six months to help with constipation.<\/p>\n Brooklyn was treated for a severe E. coli infection. Parker’s Promise \/ Facebook<\/p>\n Brooklyn was put on a ventilator at the pediatric ICU to save her life. Parker’s Promise \/ Facebook<\/p>\n Doctors were able to save her life. Now Brooklyn\u2019s mom hopes her family\u2019s ordeal can spare others from making the same near-fatal mistake: Giving her daughter raw milk.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to hate myself to the day I die for having allowed that to happen,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Brooklyn\u2019s story<\/p>\n Emily Marris desperately wanted a third child at 48, and Brooklyn was that \u201cmiracle baby,\u201d she told ProPublica.<\/p>\n Brooklyn was born 7 weeks premature and had a low birth weight and underdeveloped lungs. She spent the first month in the NICU.<\/p>\n This contributed to a huge effort from Emily to \u201cdetoxify\u201d the family\u2019s home, from getting rid of synthetic materials to eliminating ultra-processed food.<\/p>\n But when Emily started a new medication for chronic pain that could pass through breastmilk, she needed to find an alternative to breastfeeding. Organic infant formula had too many additives, she found, and store-bought cows milk left Brooklyn constipated.<\/p>\n She turned to a Facebook group, where moms gushed about the benefits of raw \u2014 meaning unpasteurized \u2014 goat\u2019s milk. One mom recommended a farm only 10 miles away.<\/p>\n Emily picked up a jug that day, noting it was still warm to the touch. Brooklyn took well to it, and her bowel movements became more regular. So it continued for six months, until the vomiting started.<\/p>\n Brooklyn received dialysis over several days and she recovered. Parker’s Promise \/ Facebook<\/p>\n At the hospital, Brooklyn developed hemolytic uremic syndrome<\/a>, a serious condition where blood vessels become damaged and cause clots, hurting organs like the kidney. It\u2019s most commonly caused by E. coli bacteria.<\/p>\n Brooklyn received dialysis for a number of days, and recovered. But the progress she\u2019d shown before she\u2019d gotten sick had halted.<\/p>\n Brooklyn walked with a slight limp and couldn\u2019t sleep through the night. Doctors warned she\u2019d likely face long-term kidney issues and wouldn\u2019t be able to ever drink alcohol.<\/p>\n The real danger of raw milk<\/p>\n Even though at the time she thought she was making an educated decision, Emily knows better now and is racked with guilt. \u201cI\u2019m the one that gave it to her,\u201d she told ProPublica. \u201cJust how stupid could I be?\u201d<\/p>\n Raw, unpasteurized milk is growing in popularity. In a 2023 study, 4.4% of Americans<\/a> reported drinking it in the past year, while 1% said they drink it weekly.<\/p>\n But any \u201cclaims related to improved nutrition, prevention of lactose intolerance, or provision of \u2018good\u2019 bacteria from the consumption of raw milk have no scientific basis and are myths,\u201d researchers say<\/a>.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a reason pasteurization \u2014 heating milk to destroy harmful pathogens \u2014 was invented over a century ago.<\/p>\n \u201cPrior to pasteurization, there was significant illness from consumption of\u00a0raw\u00a0milk,\u201d Dr. Uzma Syed<\/a>, a board-certified infectious disease specialist\u00a0and Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, previously told The Post. \u201cWe have been fortunate to have a significant decline in these infections and illnesses in the general population due to safer\u00a0milk\u00a0production and consumption.\u201d<\/p>\n Emily Marris hopes to prevent others from making the same mistake she did after almost losing her daughter Brooklyn. Parker’s Promise \/ Facebook<\/p>\n Some studies show up to a third of raw milk has pathogens, even if it\u2019s from a healthy animal or the milk appears to be of good quality. That can happen due to contamination, since bacteria lingers everywhere from the cow\u2019s udders to the farmer\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n And that contamination can be lots of things \u2014 including cow feces. <\/p>\n In fact, people are 100 times more likely<\/a> to get a foodborne illness from drinking raw milk compared to pasteurized milk.<\/p>\n In addition to E. coli, anything from campylobacter to salmonella, listeria, and bird flu can be found in unpasteurized milk. These are especially dangerous to kids<\/a>, older adults, pregnant women, and anyone with a weakened immune system.<\/p>\n In California, only licensed farms can sell raw milk, though unlicensed farms like the one Emily bought from can also sell it, as long as it\u2019s labeled as pet food. After a state investigation was opened, the farm owner told them the milk was for pets only and claimed that it was advertised as such.<\/p>\n Days after Brooklyn got sick, a six-year-old who\u2019d drank milk from the same farm also got deathly ill. Emily joined this second family to sue the farm owner and the business, alleging hey had negligently sold the families contaminated raw milk that was presented as \u201cfit for human consumption.\u201d<\/p>\n The case is ongoing. Baker told ProPublica that the farm will<\/a> \u201cfully defend against the allegations by Plaintiffs.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t