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OMAHA, Neb. -- A 6-year-old girl who underwent a rare transplant surgery after her intestines were sucked out in a swimming pool has died in an Omaha hospital.

Abigail Taylor's family said she died Thursday evening. Bob Bennett is an attorney for the Taylor family. He said Abigail's parents were with her when she died at Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.
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NMC's Paul Baltes confirmed to KETV NewsWatch 7 that Abigail died at the hospital, where she has been under care since the operation. Baltes was not sure whether an autopsy or exact cause of death would be released to the public.

Abigail was injured when she sat on a pool drain, and its powerful suction ripped out part of her intestinal tract on June 29. She underwent transplant surgery in December at the Nebraska hospital to receive a new small bowel, liver and pancreas.

University of Nebraska Medical Center Chief of Transplantation Dr. Alan Langas said in December that Abigail was one of the oldest patients he's seen to receive such a transplant. Langas said at the time many transplant patients are under age 2 and some are even less than a year old.

The girl's father said she was "in and out of it" after the transplant.

After the injury, Abigail had to get her nourishment through an intravenous tube. If successful, the transplant should have allowed her to eat just like any other kid.

She later suffered setbacks, including a cancerous condition sometimes triggered by organ transplants.

In 2006, there were 96 pediatric small bowel transplants performed at 16 medical centers in the United States, according to UNMC. The busiest program was Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, performing 22 and the second busiest program was The Nebraska Medical Center, performing 14. The Nebraska Medical Center has performed about 4,800 solid organ transplants since the transplant program started in 1985.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported in November that Taylor's family filed suit against the pool manufacturer and the Minneapolis Golf Club.

"The suit blamed both the club, located in St. Louis Park, Minn, and Sta-Rite Industries, a pool equipment manufacturer owned by a Golden Valley company, for the accident, in which 21 feet of Abigail Taylor's small intestine were sucked out when she landed on an uncovered suction outlet in the kiddie pool in June," the paper reported.

In December, President George W. Bush signed The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act of 2007, according to SafeKids.net. The legislation provides incentives for states to adopt comprehensive pool safety laws that will protect children from life-threatening injuries and deaths from potentially dangerous pool and spa drains.

Egads.

Ouch.

Egads

O.M.F.G.

This sounds like something out of Mythbusters. It's just so incredibly implausible that I really can't blame the manufacturers if they did miss something like that.

Implausible enough, in fact, that there's a good chance this "news" story is a hoax.

This sounds like something out of Mythbusters. It's just so incredibly implausible that I really can't blame the manufacturers if they did miss something like that.

Implausible enough, in fact, that there's a good chance this "news" story is a hoax.

Most people do not feel threatened by a pool’s circulation system, including the main drain intake on the bottom of the swimming pool, and the skimmer boxes along the side of the pool. However, if a person comes into contact with any of the suction intake lines of the circulation system (at either the main drain or skimmer intakes) causing the suction intake to be covered or obstructed, the immense suction of the pump forms an instant seal between the open end of the suction intake line and the person’s skin or clothing. This may occur if a person places their hand over the open end of the suction intake line or, as often happens with children, a person sits down on the suction intake. In either case, the force needed to pull them free often exceeds 800 pounds. The injuries, which are inflicted in a matter of a few seconds, are horrific, usually permanent and sometimes fatal. If a person, especially a child, is sucked onto the main drain suction intake on the bottom of the pool, they usually drown.

Since the 1980's there have been at least 147 incidents documented of suction entrapment in swimming pools, including 36 deaths.

...I think I am going to be sick.