A mother and her son from Massachusetts are healing after having swallowed extremely toxic “death cap” mushrooms while foraging for dinner. They both experienced a near-death experience. Death cap mushrooms are also known as Amanita phalloides. Half an Amanita phalloides plant contains enough toxins to kill an adult human

According to a news release from Mass Memorial Medical Center, Kam Look, 63, and her son Kai Chen, 27, were outside collecting mushrooms for cooking that were comparable to those they may find in Malaysia.

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Both of them apparently managed to drive themselves to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton after becoming ill. 

The two were taken to Worcester’s UMass Memorial Medical Center when hospital staff discovered they would need a significant amount of assistance.

The mother and the son, according to Boston 25 News, had “serious, life-threatening” liver damage as a result of the incident.

According to the hospital, between 30% and 50% of people who suffer the same kind of liver injury as the two of them die.

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According to reports, a toxicology expert quickly had an investigational new medicine brought in from Philadelphia after identifying the mushroom poisoning. Then, staff members spoke with toxicology specialists from across the nation who provided guidance on how to save the two.

Chen was released from the hospital a few days later, but Look required a more dramatic intervention and was placed on the transplant list in search of a new liver.

Look was matched to a liver within days, and a high-stakes surgery was performed.

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Look remained intubated in the ICU after the surgery, where she was monitored by transplant caregivers who worked to keep her stable. She was eventually transferred to an acute care floor and then to a rehab facility before being allowed to return home.

Mushroom poisoning is poisoning caused by eating mushrooms that contain toxic substances. Its symptoms range from mild gastrointestinal discomfort to death within 10 days.