Neal: Gibson Battles E. Coli

[Seth Stohs]

http://www.startribune.com/twins-pitcher-kyle-gibson-battles-his-toughest-foe-e-coli/505811352/#15

 

LaVelle Neal wrote about Kyle Gibson's bout with e. coli. Gibson went to the Dominican Republic on a mission trip ,and that is where he contracted the illness. He missed Twins Fest. He reported to spring training on Wednesday down about 20 pounds. His hope for camp is to regain his strength and some weight. 

 

 

"Normally what they do is they give you an antibiotic which kills the E. coli, but the E. coli strain I had carries something called the Shiga toxin," Gibson said. "If you take the antibiotic, it kills the E. coli but releases the toxin into your body, which would start shutting down kidneys and going after your organs, so that's why it lasted so long because I wasn't allowed to take any antibiotics. I had to just have E. coli for three weeks."

 

[Doomtints]

The earlier you recognize you have something serious and get to a hospital to get IVs (and antibiotics of course), the quicker/better your body will fight it.  It's scary how quickly this can dehydrate your body, it would be very difficult to get over the initial hump just by drinking fluids alone.

[Twodogs]

This years Ervin Santana?  Down 20 pounds, hopefully this doesn't have lasting effects.

[70charger]

That's a big body composition change from when he was healthy and effective last year. I don't see this ending well.

[USAFChief]

Ouch. Hope he's able to fully recover by opening day.

[AlwaysinModeration]

Having E. coli for three weeks with no antibiotics sounds rough. In addition to losing all that weight, he lost a lot of muscle mass and workout time.

[David HK]

 

Ouch. Hope he's able to fully recover by opening day.

Boy, this is a serious thing, often with lingering effects.  He might not be right again til mid-summer.

[Nine of twelve]

Many teams have negotiated contracts with their players containing clauses that prohibit players from participating in certain dangerous activities. There is some danger everywhere, of course, and I don't want to prevent players from being generous with their time and money, but in retrospect traveling to a place with poor sanitation isn't necessarily the safest thing to do.

[bluechipper]

That's too bad. I'm now bracing for reports of Gibson sitting in the low to mid 80's with his fastball.

[Loosey]

 

Many teams have negotiated contracts with their players containing clauses that prohibit players from participating in certain dangerous activities. There is some danger everywhere, of course, and I don't want to prevent players from being generous with their time and money, but in retrospect traveling to a place with poor sanitation isn't necessarily the safest thing to do.

He went to the Dominican.  Many of the players live there in the off-season as their home.  I wouldn't consider it "dangerous" and make a prohibited place.  He could get e-coli from an unsanitary restaurant or unwashed vegetables.

[Squirrel]

 

He went to the Dominican.  Many of the players live there in the off-season as their home.  I wouldn't consider it "dangerous" and make a prohibited place.  He could get e-coli from an unsanitary restaurant or unwashed vegetables.

Romaine anyone?

[PDX Twin]

This might be a good time to talk contract extension ...

[Squirrel]

Many teams have negotiated contracts with their players containing clauses that prohibit players from participating in certain dangerous activities. There is some danger everywhere, of course, and I don't want to prevent players from being generous with their time and money, but in retrospect traveling to a place with poor sanitation isn't necessarily the safest thing to do.

I think a clause saying they are not allowed to eat Romaine lettuce would be prudent to incorporate into everyone’s contracts.

[ahart10]

Just don’t buy the romaine from the huge farms in California. Support your local farmers markets.

[gil4]

"If you take the antibiotic, it kills the E. coli but releases the toxin into your body, which would start shutting down kidneys and going after your organs, so that's why it lasted so long because I wasn't allowed to take any antibiotics.

As of 2014, it was still an open question as to whether or not antibiotics had that effect. 

 

My son had e coli O157 (the most common bad strain) when he was 3, leading to kidney failure (temporary, in his case) from hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). I still try to keep up with the latest just because... Thankfully, he had no long term effects, unless you count being a Yankees fan. 

 

Anyway, e coli can be scary, but if Gibson dodged kidney damage, he should be fine long-term. Hopefully it won't set him too far back in the short term.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Just don’t buy the romaine from the huge farms in California. Support your local farmers markets.

then you get local poop on your veggies

[Doctor Wu]

 

This years Ervin Santana?  Down 20 pounds, hopefully this doesn't have lasting effects.

That was my first thought too. Santana's injury was only supposed to keep him out of action for a month or two, but he ended up missing most of the season. Hope Gibson can regain his strength ASAP. Speaking of Santana, has he signed with any team yet this year?

[ashbury]

That was my first thought too. Santana's injury was only supposed to keep him out of action for a month or two, but he ended up missing most of the season. Hope Gibson can regain his strength ASAP.

If you believe in the categorization, "the known knowns, the known unknowns, and the unknown unknowns," this news has moved Gibson from the first to the second group.