Victim of FOOD POISONING from RFK. Yes it happend to me.

[Diehard_Nationals_Fan]

Hospitalized for 3 days.


My room mate posted a thread about this on BigSoccer's DC United boards, I figured I would at least post my reply to that thread of well wishers over here.  So you may not get every last nuance of my post becuase there are some responses to other posters/ friends from that message boards, but youll get the genearl idea pretty clearly.

 You very well may want to think twice about eating anything at RFK anymore.  I will be persuing every avenue I have to get something done, and hopefually to get  either Aramark or DCSEC to pay my pretty large hospital bill.  The hospital is required by law to report food poisoning to the FDA as well I belive.   Anyway.. here it is....


*****************************************************

Well thanks to everyone that posted well wishes here! Needless to say there wasnt much that was going to keep me from missing this match. I did not want to miss Chiva's first RFK Beating for anything. Those that know me, know im pretty stubborn about those things. LOL! Probably not the best thing for my body at times.. but hey. Its all dedication!


I gotta tell ya, that was one of the WORST experiences I think I have had being sick. If the squirts every 20 mins were not bad enough, some of the most extreme abdominal pain ive ever had certainly was. The only thing I can liken it to is being eviscerated from hip tio hip just below your stomach. It felt like knives slicing in and twisting. There were points were I could not even sit or stand upright. Lightheaded and diziness, and body temps running in the 102 to highest, 104.5 range. Pretty high fever. It started right around midnight after Wednesdays match, and got progressively worse through the night. And yeah, it was a Half smoke. Im not sure what Ive been eating at all those nationals games, but I always ordered a "MILD" dominics italian sausage, and was never told it was anything different. This is only like the 2nd or 3rd time ive eaten any food bought at RFK during a United match.


They couldnt find anything wrong at all, and the samples were not growing any bacteria, and no tests were coming back for anything else. When I did tell the doc (AFTER I had been admited was when I was assigned an actual physician) that I had eaten what I did, and the time frame it all happened in, he pretty much agreed, it was food poisoning.


After 3 days, and I dont know HOW many bags of fluids and antibiotics being pumped into me, I was discharged this morning, as there really was not much more they could do. I did make it to the match, and thanks to those I did see who expressed cocern etc. I sat in the 200's behind La Norte, had 2 waters, and a sno-cone. I think this is probably only the 3rd or 4th sporting event I have been to as an adult were I have consumed ZERO alcohol/ beer. Aside from feeling alittle week, and having a pretty damn sore interior midsection, I dont think Im any worse for the wear. Probably be a few days before im feeling totally normal again. Im just glad I go to be there today, and cheer the boys on to another goat slaughtering! Thank u Susan and Jess for coming and visiting me in the hospital, and thanks to the best roomie and one of the greatest friends anyone could have, mr beltwayrob!

No more RFK food for me EVER AGAIN, nationals , United, or any other event. I will be contacting the DC Dept of Public Health or whatever they are called and filing a report, and will also follow through with WTOP. Aramark has simply GOT TO GO, PERIOD.


Vamos United!

[tomterp]

Damn Ken, that's pretty scary stuff.

Must be cleaning the grills with some of that free Anacostia water...

Keep us posted on what you learn through pursuing justice.

[Montcobaseball]

It would be interesting to see if they had a "cluster" of food posioning cases from that crowd.  But the DC Health department is incompetent and certainly not proactive so they won't go looking for cases.  The cases will have to come to them.

[UMDNats]

aramark isnt bad at MCI for Caps games, idk what it is at RFK tho.

please update on what happens with the DC public heath.

[tomterp]

Well, all you RFK lovers out there, remember that RFK has hopelessly antiquated support infrastructure.  Meaning, not enough food storage, refrigeration, kitchen prep areas, electrical outlets, sinks, dishwashers, none of it.  One stinking creaky freight elevator to service the entire upper deck.

There is no doubt in my mind that these conditions make it much more difficult to maintain proper food service cleanliness conditions.  Buyer beware.

[DelNatsFan]

YIKES. When I made my trip down to RFK back in June. I wolfed down a regular hot dog and a water and soda. By the 2nd inning I had to run into the tunnel for a while because I thought I was gonna collapse.  I honestly thought  to myself "My God I'm gonna die in the bowels of RFK." 30 minutes later, after cooling off and a trip to the "Angelos", I got my bearings back and enjoyed the rest of the game.  
   I had surmised that it was just some indigestion from eating the dog so fast and then sucking down the carbonated soda combined with the 95 degree heat, but now upon seeing this post, I wonder....

[tomterp]

YIKES. When I made my trip down to RFK back in June. I wolfed down a regular hot dog and a water and soda. By the 2nd inning I had to run into the tunnel for a while because I thought I was gonna collapse.  I honestly thought  to myself "My God I'm gonna die in the bowels of RFK." 30 minutes later, after cooling off and a trip to the "Angelos", I got my bearings back and enjoyed the rest of the game.  
   I had surmised that it was just some indigestion from eating the dog so fast and then sucking down the carbonated soda combined with the 95 degree heat, but now upon seeing this post, I wonder....

It's my understanding that typical food poisoning occurs around 5 hours following consumption, not as quickly as your incident.  Maybe you just had spoiled or rancid meat, vs. food poisoning.

I remember one time eating a hot dog at Memorial Stadium in Balmer, bit into one end, and liquified dog oozed out the other end.  Thing hadn't even congealed.  I ate about half of it ( I was hungry!) before it was too gross even for my iron palate.

[dotsandloops]

YIKES. When I made my trip down to RFK back in June. I wolfed down a regular hot dog and a water and soda. By the 2nd inning I had to run into the tunnel for a while because I thought I was gonna collapse.  I honestly thought  to myself "My God I'm gonna die in the bowels of RFK." 30 minutes later, after cooling off and a trip to the "Angelos", I got my bearings back and enjoyed the rest of the game.  
   I had surmised that it was just some indigestion from eating the dog so fast and then sucking down the carbonated soda combined with the 95 degree heat, but now upon seeing this post, I wonder....

It's my understanding that typical food poisoning occurs around 5 hours following consumption, not as quickly as your incident.  Maybe you just had spoiled or rancid meat, vs. food poisoning.

I remember one time eating a hot dog at Memorial Stadium in Balmer, bit into one end, and liquified dog oozed out the other end.  Thing hadn't even congealed.  I ate about half of it ( I was hungry!) before it was too gross even for my iron palate.

Food poisoning may take about five hours, but the Taco Bell effect can certainly hit that fast.

[gosensgo05]

Here's my summation of the RFK menu:

The hot dogs....WORST tasting hot dogs ever!  
The Italian Sausage....GROSS
Pizza....GROSS because there's no taste
French Fries....Soggy and Cold
Sodas...FLAT

Stick to beer and peanuts my fellow Nats fans.

[NatsCaps19]

hmmm... i really like the dominics half smokes. I'll be thinking twice before getting one again.

[Keydet]

Funny you mention this.... my wife had to go to the hospital for Salmonella poisoning. The only possible cause was the food she ate at the game. We didn't even know she had food poisoning until a few weeks later when the Department of Health contacted us. The doctors thought she just had a stomach flu.

Unfortunately, they notified us so late we could not officially "pin-point" Aramark as the culprit. But we are pretty darn sure it was them. It was either food I made for us or the Hot Dog that ONLY she got at the game.