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veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,504
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Re: [UK] Best selling author fighting for his life after eating mushrooms [Re: veggie]
#14775862 - 07/16/11 01:24 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Update ...
Horse Whisperer author poisoned by mushrooms given daughter's kidney July 16, 2011 - telegraph.co.uk
Nicholas Evans, the bestselling writer, has received his daughter’s kidney in a transplant three years after suffering a near-fatal reaction to poisonous mushrooms.
The author of The Horse Whisperer and his only daughter, Lauren, are said to be recovering well from the surgery which took place 12 days ago.
In August 2008, Evans, his wife, Charlotte, and Charlotte’s brother and sister-in-law, suffered kidney failure as a result of eating deadly webcap mushrooms, which they mistook for harmless ceps.
Prior to the operation, he was on the transplant waiting list and required five hours of dialysis every day. In an interview last year, Evans said that his three grown-up children – Max and Lauren, from his first marriage, and Harry, from a previous relationship – had each offered to donate a kidney but he was reluctant to accept. He also has a young son, Finlay, with his current wife.
However, Lauren, a zoologist in her late twenties who works for a Kenyan elephant conservation project, proved to be a perfect match and Evans agreed to undergo the procedure.
The 60-year-old author shared news of the transplant at the Telegraph Ways With Words Festival in Dartington, Devon, where he was due to appear to discuss his writing.
In a message, he said: “Some of you may know that, after eating poisonous mushrooms three years ago, I lost the use of my kidneys. For all of that time my wonderful daughter has been offering me one of hers. We turned out to be a perfect match.
“Eventually, I put parental fear aside and accepted. The transplant happened last week. We are both a bit sore but doing fine. The only downside is that I’m not yet fit enough to do Ways With Words this week, as promised. I’m sorry to let you down. See you next year instead, I hope.”
Evans picked the mushrooms during a walk through woodland on the 13,000-acre Scottish estate belonging to his brother-in-law, Sir Alastair Gordon-Cumming, and his wife Lady Louisa. He sautéed them with butter and parsley and served them to the family, fatefully neglecting to leaf through a book in the kitchen which identified mushrooms. He has described it as an “absolutely stupid” mistake.
Within days, all four were critically ill in hospital with kidney failure. Evans said that the experience had been “a life-changing journey”, adding: “More than anything, we are happy to be alive.” His wife has been told that she will require a transplant and Sir Alastair is believed to be on the waiting list. Lady Louisa does not require dialysis because she ate a smaller number of the mushrooms.
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digitalemu
Digital Emu
Registered: 09/01/10
Posts: 302
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Re: [UK] Best selling author fighting for his life after eating mushrooms [Re: veggie]
#14786284 - 07/18/11 12:22 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Be careful out there folks!
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blujay
pass it b*ch!
Registered: 04/01/09
Posts: 5,120
Last seen: 8 years, 7 months
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Re: [UK] Best selling author fighting for his life after eating mushrooms [Re: digitalemu]
#14786571 - 07/18/11 01:24 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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This is why I don't eat wild-picked mushrooms of any kind. After reading what they can do, I was just like "fuck that shit"
If you're a good mycologist or whatever, sure. It's just so easy to grow them though, and then you more or less know you're good.
-------------------- wat man rly
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durian_2008
Cornucopian Eating an Elephant
Registered: 04/02/08
Posts: 17,451
Loc: Raccoon City
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Re: Best selling author fighting for his life after eating mushrooms [UK] [Re: rodfarva]
#14791874 - 07/19/11 11:17 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
rodfarva said: In survival training everyone i ever heard said stay away from all fungus, saying they have no nutritional value. I love cooking with them, but never have i been compelled to eat wild mushies.
In an actual, survival situation, nothing is useless.
There are explicit rules to follow, just like anything else.
For the record...
Quote:
Destroying Angels, or amanita virosa, are from the same family as the lethal Death Cap mushroom.
They are very similar to edible puff balls and can also be mistaken for field mushrooms.
Do any of our resident experts have a surefire way to differentiate immature Amanitas from mature, edible puffballs?
Is this something that a qualified mushroom hunter would know. Why, or why not?
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veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,504
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Re: Best selling author fighting for his life after eating mushrooms [UK] [Re: durian_2008]
#14792050 - 07/19/11 11:53 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Just slice them in half. You can easily tell the difference. A puffball will be white an uniform, an Amanita egg will have the immature stem and gills visible. Puffballs are easy to distinguish and make a great lunch.
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durian_2008
Cornucopian Eating an Elephant
Registered: 04/02/08
Posts: 17,451
Loc: Raccoon City
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Re: Best selling author fighting for his life after eating mushrooms [UK] [Re: veggie]
#14795521 - 07/19/11 10:51 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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demon66
Stranger
Registered: 08/19/10
Posts: 677
Last seen: 11 years, 10 months
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Re: Best selling author fighting for his life after eating mushrooms [UK] [Re: durian_2008]
#14795715 - 07/19/11 11:50 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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The Destrying Angel is very easy to get a positive ID on. One of the first mushrooms one should get to know. I am suprised he did not know about it.
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veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,504
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Re: Best selling author fighting for his life after eating mushrooms [UK] [Re: demon66]
#14795944 - 07/20/11 12:55 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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In this case the mushroom was a Cortinarius rubellus (formerly Cortinarius speciosissimus) which Mr. Evans' party apparently confused with a Chanterelle mushroom (Cantharellus sp.).
They really don't look anything alike, obviously they were inexperienced hunters. To be sure of course it's always wise to take a spore print. A Cortinarius will have a rusty brown color, a Cantharellus whitish, slightly yellow color.
(The first article did say Amanita which was corrected in later articles)
Veggie edit: Correction: The most recent article, and a previous one, states he confused the Cort with a 'cep', a Boltus edulis, which is a popular edible. These also would be difficult to confuse as a Bolete does not even have gills, they have pores, and is generally considered one of the easiest and safest edible to identify.
Edited by veggie (07/20/11 02:19 AM)
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durian_2008
Cornucopian Eating an Elephant
Registered: 04/02/08
Posts: 17,451
Loc: Raccoon City
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Re: Best selling author fighting for his life after eating mushrooms [UK] [Re: veggie]
#14797379 - 07/20/11 11:36 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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I had dirt-poor relatives from the Old World, who never read a field manual in their life, carefully (!) prodded the species on our lawn, and lived to a ripe old age.
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