Mass. mom, son hospitalized with severe liver damage after eating mushrooms they foraged for dinner

WORCESTER, Mass. — A mother and her son were recently rushed to a Massachusetts hospital with severe liver damage and treated with a “compassionate use” drug after they consumed mushrooms that they had foraged for dinner.

Kam Look and her son, Kai Chen, of Amherst, were outside a few weeks ago gathering mushrooms similar to ones that they had been able to safely forage in Malaysia, UMass Memorial Medical Center said in a news release.

As they ate their meal, they became ill and transported themselves to nearby Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton. Medical officials immediately recognized that they needed a higher level of intervention, so both patients were transferred to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.

The mother and son were both said to be suffering from severe, life-threatening liver damage with a death rate between 30 and 50 percent.

A toxicology expert then identified the mushroom poisoning, knew the patients had no time to waste, and had an investigational new drug that required special approval flown in from Philadelphia, according to the hospital. Fellow toxicology experts from around the country then consulted with dozens of UMass Memorial caregivers on how to save the mother and son.

These desperate measures led to slow improvement for Kai and he was able to be discharged a few days later, but medical officials say Kam needed “more dramatic intervention.”

Kam was placed on the transplant list in hopes that a donated liver could save her due to the severity of her organ damage. Fortunately, within a few days, she received the liver, and a “high-stakes” surgery was performed.

The mom spent several days intubated in the ICU and was carefully monitored by specially trained transplant caregivers who used a complex array of medications to keep her stable. She slowly recovered, was moved to an acute care floor, and eventually a rehabilitation facility. She is now set to return home.

Kam, Kai, and her clinical team are slated to gather Thursday at the hospital to share a major message of caution about mushrooms for others.

UMass health officials say the mushroom poisoning is part of a larger concerning trend involving a subculture of foragers who have been scouring the internet to find and identify mushrooms not only to eat but for a psychedelic experience.

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