Ex-husband of alleged mushroom chef suffered 'serious gut issue' year before tragedy
It has emerged the ex-husband of a woman at the centre of the deadly mushroom investigation almost died last year from a serious and mysterious gut issue.
The ex-husband of the woman at the centre of Victoria's baffling death cap mushroom saga reportedly suffered a "serious gut" issue just over a year before the tragedy that killed three and left one clinging to life in hospital.
Erin Patterson, 48, served lunch to four people at Leongatha, a town 135 kilometres southeast of Melbourne, on July 29. She was the former daughter-in-law of one of the couples who died.
Don and Gail Patterson and her sister Heather Wilkinson died from symptoms consistent with death cap mushroom poisoning after the lunch, while Heather’s husband Ian, the pastor at the local Baptist Church, also suffered from suspected poisoning and is in a critical condition.
It's now emerged that Ms Patterson's ex-husband Simon Patterson suffered from a mysterious and "serious gut problem" which put him in a coma roughly a year prior to the recent tragedy, with his symptoms appearing to be similar with those of the deceased.
In a Facebook post dated June 29, 2022, Mr Patterson described collapsing at home due to his stomach illness, requiring him to be put into an induced coma for 16 days.
Aussie mum and daughter poisoned after eating backyard mushrooms
Warning as Melbourne resident makes 'very nasty' find in garden
Dad hospitalised after eating handpicked poisonous mushrooms
Ex-husband almost died from gut issue
The post on a local basketball page has gained renewed attention as police continue to investigate the recent deaths.
"Some of you will know that I've had some serious medical problems since late May," the post from Mr Patterson read.
"I collapsed at home, then was in an induced coma for 16 days through which I had three emergency operations mainly on my small intestine, plus an additional planned operation.
"My family were asked to come and say goodbye to me twice, as I was not expected to live. I was in intensive care for 21 days, after which I was in the general ward for a week, and now I'm at a rehab place since last Saturday."
Mr Patterson went on to explain that "all the medical work seemed to have fixed the serious gut problems", explaining that he appeared to make a full recovery and was left with "no impact on my personality, character or anything else much". On the day of his post he was looking forward to a visit from his wife Erin and his children.
"I have a big scar on my tummy which is healing itself slowly, and I have ICU acquired weakness which is a common condition of people who lie in intensive care for a long time as I did," Mr Patterson said.
Yahoo News Australia makes no suggestion that Mr Patterson's illness is connected to the recent deaths.
Police carrying out forensic tests
Meanwhile, police are understood to be forensically testing a food dehydrator found at a local tip in their investigations into the incident, according to reports.
So far, no charges have been laid and Ms Patterson has been released from police custody after facing questions without charge.
The 48-year-old earlier spoke to media claiming that she was "devastated"over the deaths and "hopes with every fibre of my being that [Ian] pulls through".
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
