North Texas Man Ate Blue Bell, Fears He Has Listeriosis
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BURLESON (CBS 11 NEWS) - Don't eat it, don't serve it, and don't sell it. As the Centers for Disease Control issue a blunt warning about Blue Bell ice cream, some customers are worried the damage may have already been done.
North Texan Marvin Whitlock thinks the ice cream could be the reason he went to the hospital.
Whitlock says blood and stool samples could take 36 to 48 hours to come back, but until then, he's taking antibiotics to treat a range of disorders that include listeriosis.
"I'm not going to lie to you, I'm scared. I'm scared," he said.
Whitlock says he rarely gets sick, so he didn't know what to think when he came down with diarrhea, then vomiting, then fever, and finally muscle pains. He hadn't heard about the cases of listeriosis linked to Blue Bell until his wife saw it on the news.
"She come in. She said, 'Baby,' she said, 'you need to watch the news about Blue Bell.' I said, 'What about Blue Bell?' She said, 'They have another recall.' I said, 'Oh, Jesus.'"
Whitlock had just eaten the Hot Fudge Brownie ice cream the day before he started feeling bad.
"My shoulders, my muscles just burn and ache, and they hurt. God, they hurt so bad."
The more Whitlock learned about listeriosis, the more he began to fear.
"I said, 'Baby,' I said, 'We need to go to the hospital.' I said, ''cause everything that they're saying,' I said, 'that's what I've got.' I said, 'This is not good.'"
Doctors say his symptoms mimic many gastrointestinal illnesses. But until his tests come back, these next two days might be the longest days of his life.
"Man, I'm in severe pain right now. I am really, really in severe pain. I hurt so bad."
Whitlock said he contacted CBS 11 because he wants others to check with a doctor if they are experiencing similar symptoms.
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