In the summer of 2022 Parker Stine’s parents signed him up for a fun, educational stint at a day camp where he would care for a baby goat for a week. The week went fine and his family was so happy on the last day when they went to see him and the goat he had been caring for.
They were equally happy the next day when they set out from their Tennessee home for a Florida vacation. Then things went terribly wrong. Parker became violently ill and was hospitalized. He had developed an E. coli O157:H7 infection from contact with the animals at Lucky Ladd Farm.
The farm/petting zoo is referred to as an agri-tourism site and as such has certain protections under Tennessee law. The law includes suggestions for safety measures such as hand washing stations, but does not require them. Parker’s mother Morgan has launched a campaign under the banner Parker’s Promise to raise awareness about the lack of safety requirements at such businesses and also provide support to families who are going through experiences like her family did.
Parker’s story
Prior to attending the Lucky Ladd day camp, Parker was a very active child, playing sports and excelling at them. It took more than two years of recovery after his infection, but Parker has returned to many of his activities.
There were times during his nightmare illness when his parents didn’t think he would ever regain his health. In fact, they thought they would have to say goodbye to their 7-year-old son for good.
On the first day of the family vacation to Florida, Parker became sick. It started with diarrhea but worsened dramatically in just a few hours. He developed a 102-degree fever and had severe abdominal cramping and profound diarrhea.
His mother Morgan knew she needed to take quick action so she quarantined herself along with him in one bedroom of their vacation rental and told her husband Paul he would have to care for their other two children who were 4 and 2 years old.
Parker continued to get worse. Morgan said he had diarrhea 30 times the second day of their vacation. She tried to keep him hydrated but it was difficult for him to take even small sips of water. Then she became ill. They were both bed bound and she knew they would have to go to an emergency room.
As is the case with so many parents of children with E. coli infections Morgan had to be a strong advocate for her child in the face of less urgency on the part of medical personnel. Both she and Parker were given IV fluids but emergency room staff were ready to send them home.
Parker had multiple rounds of diarrhea while in the emergency room and needed a second round of fluids. Again the hospital staff wanted to send him on his way.
Morgan said absolutely not, so he was admitted for observation for 24 hours. That 24-hour stay turned into a transfer to a children’s hospital. All together he was in the hospital for 10 days.
Parker’s condition continued to worsen. He had severe abdominal pain and was pale. His mother said he almost lost consciousness several times. While waiting for an ambulance to take Parker to the children’s hospital — which was 90 minutes away — Morgan allowed herself to be talked into giving Parker a dose of Imodium to lessen his diarrhea on the ride.
“That was the worst decision,” she said. “You do not give anti-diarrheal medication to a patient with infectious diarrhea. I know this and yet I still let him persuade me and I regret that. I do think it made Parker much worse.”
At the children’s hospital Parker was given morphine for the pain. He continued to get worse. His parents and the medical team still were not sure what was making him sick. Then a stool sample showed positive for E. coli O157:H7. While it was reassuring to have a diagnosis, Morgan knew that the infection could lead to hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which can cause kidney damage. She also knew such infections can cause brain damage and death.
Parker did not develop HUS, but his condition continued to worsen. He hadn’t eaten in days and when he finally ate a cracker it kicked off another round of severe diarrhea and pain. Morgan said it was a roller coaster of pain and emotions as he moved forward and then had setbacks.
At one point a nurse went in to check vital signs and she couldn’t get a blood pressure.
“She tried one leg, then the other leg,” Morgan said. “It wouldn’t read because his blood pressure was too low. I said his name, he didn’t respond. I said it louder, he didn’t respond, I shook him, he didn’t respond. I did a very hard sternal rub and he didn’t respond. Heart rate still dropping. In that moment I thought he was coding.”
Parker made it through the night and on day 8 he started to get better. Upon discharge he had lost 8 pounds and was still pale and extremely weak.
It took 18 months before Parker’s life looked anything like normal. He will have some of the effects of the infection for the rest of his life. He will have colitis and an imbalance of good bacteria in his gut. He will have to follow a strict diet to avoid episodes.
“One day at school he traded snacks with another kid and it started a reaction,” Morgan said. “Just something that simple that kids all do is something he has to watch out for.”
Both Parker and Morgan have post-traumatic shock disorder from their ordeal. Morgan expects the attacks to less in severity and frequency over time. She is thankful that the family dog seems to give Parker comfort during episodes.
Parker’s Promise
Morgan says Parker’s illness has given her the chance to make sure other families don’t have to go it alone when their children become infected after visiting animal attractions.
“Lucky Ladd is the No. 1 agri-tourism site in Tennessee,” she said. “They take in millions every year.”
After being notified of Parker’s illness the state went in and gave the business the chance to make changes. The farm shut down for a couple of weeks and Morgan hopes things have changed. During family day she had turned her children toward a hand washing station, but there was no water. They saw teenage counselors instead of adults working with camp attendees.
Morgan said she doesn’t want to close down agri-tourism sites, she just wants them to be safer and to make parents aware of the dangers and have the businesses take seriously the inherent dangers of their attractions.
Thus Parker’s Promise was born. She founded the organization in October 2023 and has just about completed the process to make it a non-profit entity. So far the group has helped 54 families, sending care packages that are age-specific, even sending packages to siblings. Sadly, six of those families lost a child.
Morgan and volunteers, who have also been through similar scenarios with their children, are available to talk to parents and help them with questions to ask and paths to take to help their children get the best care possible.
“It’s like opening the wound every time I talk to one of them, but it’s worth it to know that I am helping. I don’t want anyone else to have to go through this alone,” she said.
Morgan said she has learned a lot from her journey with Parker. For one thing, she has learned that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that no children younger than 5 have contact with farm animals. She has also learned that Tennessee is not alone in its lack of requirements for petting zoos, farm parks and other agri-tourism attractions.
“We want to get legislation passed here and in all 50 states so these businesses are required to have proper safety measures in place,” she said.
It is also a goal of Parker’s Promise to raise awareness among parents by having information available in every school and church about how to protect children from infections while attending agri-tourism attractions. Morgan also wants to make sure information about Parker’s Promise is available in all hospitals.
Another goal for 2025 is to have a Parker’s Promise Ambassador in every state and country. So far they have at least one person in 10 states and four countries. The organization is also raising money to grow its support of families in need.
“Donations have been small, but in the past few months we have had some phenomenal givers,” Morgan said.
The group is also planning a 5K run and concerts in the park events.
“There has to be some good come out of Parker’s experience,” said Morgan.
“Parker’s Promise is a promise that we will step in and serve these families during their hardest time. It’s a promise that we will commit to policy change. A promise that these children who died, that their lives will not be forgotten and that their death will not be in vain. It’s a promise that these children’s stories and their trauma will be honored and remembered. It’s a promise that we as a society will do better.”
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