On November 9th, parents Phil and Trisha Cockle sought medical care for their 3 1/2 year-old son, Simon, who had been vomiting all night.

After days of tests and treatment with IV fluids and antibiotics, the cause of his illness was still unknown , and he was showing no improvement.  He was transferred to Children's Hospital Oakland, where a diagnosis of E.Coli 0157 gastroenteritis was made.

E.Coli 0157 is a strain of the E. Coli bacterium which is extremely aggresive.  The only treatment is to monitor closely and treat the symptoms and effects of the infection, while waiting for it to improve.  Simon is already experiencing one of the more dangerous effects, which is kidney failure.  He may need dialysis if his kidney function continues to decline.

Phil and Trish are by his side night and day, fighting for Simon as the doctors fight to get him through this terrifying disease.

Trisha posted this update today on Facebook;


"Wasn't sure I was going to post this, but I've gotten a lot of messages of support and inquiries about Simon today so I am going to do another update:
He slept ok last night but unfortunately this morning at around 8am he had a seizure. He's ok and has come out if it. They took a ct scan and it showed there was no blood on the brain, but there is some clotting in one of the large blood vessels in the brain. We are back in the ICU and they are pumping him with fluids. He shows signs of renal failure which means he won't be able to process the fluids from his blood and he will get all puffy, but they need to do the fluids for the clotting. They gave him seizure meds so that shouldn't happen again. They are probably going to treat him with an anticoagulant. We may do a blood transfusion soon, and he will go in for an mri. The seizure medicine knocked him out and he's sleeping peacefully right now. We are in the right place to help him and trying to stay strong."



The Cockles are staying strong for Simon, but their lives have been turned upside-down.  The costs and long-term prognosis are unknown.

I am one of MANY friends and family members who is trying to support Phil, Trisha in any way I can, so that they can focus on dear Simon.
100% of donations will go directly to Phil and Trisha, to help with medical and other costs incurred during this extremely difficult time.

The Cockle family thanks you for all your prayers, love and concern for Simon <3