A family from Montana in the USA had their lives turned upside down after eating lunch at a popular sushi restaurant last April.
Less than two weeks after the meal, 64-year-old Donna Ventura died, after saying goodbye to her husband and son from her hospital bed.
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In short
- Donna Ventura (64) from Montana, USA, died after eating poisonous mushrooms in sushi at a restaurant.
- The fungus led to kidney and liver failure.
- Before she died, she wrote a heartbreaking message to her husband and son.
- Her death is linked to 50 other cases of illness after a meal at the same restaurant.
- A 74-year-old man also died.
- The health authorities have concluded that the restaurant’s preparation of the mushroom contributed to the outbreak of the disease.
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The sushi Donna ate is said to have contained uncooked mushrooms, which caused the 64-year-old to suffer kidney and liver failure, and was put on a ventilator.
On a note she wrote down her last message to her husband Jon Ventura and their son together.
LAST MESSAGE: In her last days, Donna wrote a message to those close to her. Photo: KBZK
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“I’m not sure I can last much longer. How are we going to manage this? I can’t stand the pain,” the 64-year-old is said to have written in his last days. This is reported by KBZK.
To her son she wrote: “I love you.”
Killed Matteo by accident: – We are devastated
“Code Blue”
In a report from the health authorities that was presented recently, Donna’s death is linked to 50 other cases of guests who fell ill after eating at the restaurant on two relevant dates in April last year.
Three of them required hospitalisation, and a 74-year-old man died.
The parents’ prayer: – Let Maria (6) live
A year after the incident, Jon Ventura recounts those fateful days to the Montana Free Press.
It was on 17 April 2023 that Ventura sat in the waiting room at the emergency department and looked up the meaning of “code blue”, after his wife had been rushed to the hospital.
Earlier in the day they had eaten sushi at the popular local restaurant, and Jon therefore suspected that his wife had gotten food poisoning.
On the public address system, he heard “code blue” being called out. “Code blue” is used by healthcare professionals to indicate that the patient needs immediate medical assistance. Preferably due to respiratory arrest or cardiac arrest.
“It can’t be my wife, because it’s just food poisoning,” Ventura thought to himself, he tells the newspaper.
Died in front of his wife: – Expected child
Extreme pain
After a short time, however, he was told that it concerned the woman he had been married to for 34 years. Donna had suffered a cardiac arrest and had been resuscitated by paramedics.
For the next twelve days, Donna fought for her life while connected to a ventilator. According to her husband, she had been in extreme pain recently, before she died of liver and kidney failure.
Got ALS – going to die soon
Afterwards, it was established that the organs failed after Donna ingested mushrooms of the morel type that were not heat-treated.
In her final days, Jon gave her a pen. It was then that she wrote down her last messages to her family, before finally falling asleep.
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Delicacy
In the health authorities’ report, it was established that the restaurant’s preparation of the mushroom probably contributed to the outbreak of illness. On April 17, the day Donna visited the restaurant, the mushrooms were not said to have been cooked, only marinated in sauce.
According to Store norske lexikon, morels are seen as a delicacy and are sold for high prices. However, mild poisoning has been reported with large intakes or insufficiently heat-treated meals.
According to Helsenorge, the type of sand morel can cause poisoning with symptoms such as stomach pain, diarrhoea, dizziness and double vision.
