Toddler vomited blue-green bile and nearly died after consuming controversial drink

On a summer day in California, 17-month-old Brooklyn Marris vomited all over the backseat of the family car.Over the next two days, she continued to vomit “yellow bile” then “blue-green.” Doctors sent her to the ER, which quickly determined she needed serious help at a children’s hospital 70 miles away.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’t know if she’d survive, ProPublica reports.Doctors confirmed that Brooklyn was sickened with a dangerous strain of E.coli, a bacteria her parents believe it came from a drink they’d given her for about six months to help with constipation.Doctors were able to save her life.

Now Brooklyn’s mom hopes her family’s ordeal can spare others from making the same near-fatal mistake: Giving her daughter raw milk.“I’m going to hate myself to the day I die for having allowed that to happen,” she said.Emily Marris desperately wanted a third child at 48, and Brooklyn was that “miracle baby,” she told ProPublica.Brooklyn was born 7 weeks premature and had a low birth weight and underdeveloped lungs.

She spent the first month in the NICU.This contributed to a huge effort from Emily to “detoxify” the family’s home, from getting rid of synthetic materials to eliminating ultra-processed food.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.She turned to a Facebook group, where moms gushed about the benefits of raw — meaning unpasteurized — goat’s milk.

One mom recommended a farm only 10 miles away.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 vomiti...