When Amelia Liddy-Sudbury was pregnant with her third child, she didn’t think twice when she ate pre-packaged rockmelon.
But within days, the Sydney mother was clinging on to life after she contracted a listeria infection – a rare but potentially severe illness caused by bacteria.
She gave birth via an emergency caesarean section after the bacteria was just one hour away from killing her unborn son Theodore.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, the now-36-year-old wanted to issue a warning after two elderly people died earlier this year from eating contaminated rockmelon.
‘If you’re pregnant or at an old age, just don’t eat it, it’s not worth it,’ she said.
‘If you are immunosuppressed in any way, it’s better to be safe than sorry.’
Amelia Liddy-Sudbury with her loving family – husband Neil Sunbury, five-year-old son Freddie, daughter Elizabeth, aged two, and nine-month-old Theodore
The mother gave birth via an emergency caesarean section after the bacteria was just one hour away from killing her unborn son Theodore
Little Theodore was born healthy after his mother had picked up the life-threatening bacteria
The young mother was 33 weeks pregnant when she started experiencing flu-like symptoms after eating pre-made rockmelon last year.
But as her condition worsen, she was rushed to hospital two days later.
‘I was feeling sore, my muscles were aching. It wasn’t like having a food poisoning, it wasn’t like that at all but it felt like having the flu,’ she said.
‘But it slowly creeps up on you. I started shaking, my temperature was high, I felt like I was having a spasm. I started vomiting on the day I was rushed to hospital.’
After getting ‘every test under the sun’, doctors found she had listeria.
‘Doctors found the listeria had travelled through my body, it was ravaging me but my placenta was able to hold it back,’ she said.
‘They couldn’t perform a c-section because I might not have lived. They needed to treat me first because I was extremely ill.’
The young mother who was 33 weeks pregnant when she started experiencing flu-like symptoms after eating pre-made rockmelon last year
The mother, who already have two young children, said she didn’t think twice when she ate store-bought pre-cut rockmelon
Against all odds, Mrs Liddy-Sudbury welcomed her baby boy Theodore.
‘After two weeks of antibiotics, they delivered my baby at 35 weeks along. They needed to make sure me and my baby was stabilised first,’ she said.
‘We were within one hour of the bacteria passing through the placenta into the baby. If it crossed, he would have died.
‘For two weeks, we prepared for all the potential outcome of what could have happened. But for some stroke of miracle, he was perfect.
‘The listeria didn’t cross over to the baby and it was just a miracle. Theodore was untouched. In the end, the conclusion was he escaped unharmed. It’s amazing.’
Against all odds, Mrs Liddy-Sudbury welcomed her baby boy Theodore
Now, nine months on, Mrs Liddy-Sudbury said she does think about the harrowing ordeal
Following tests, Mrs Liddy-Sudbury said the NSW Public Health found the bacteria was caused by a store bought pre-cut rockmelon.
‘Mine was cut into elements, which I bought from a fruit deli,’ she recalled.
‘The problem is, you can have a pile of rockmelon, and just one would be contaminated. And once a knife cuts though, the bacteria spreads.
‘Reading about the latest outbreak, these people have purchased a whole rockmelon, and preparing it themselves, they think they’re doing the right thing.
‘It’s awful, they are trying their best to be safe but they are still getting into trouble.’
The Sydney mother was clinging on to life after she contracted a listeria infection
Nine months on, Theodore is a playful little boy – and the family are thankful of the outcome
The mother-of-three advised for those who are experiencing any flu-like symptoms to seek medical help as soon as possible
Now, nine months on, Mrs Liddy-Sudbury said she does think about the harrowing ordeal that nearly claimed the life of her son.
‘I actually think about it more now then I did the months after it happened,’ she said.
‘When something like that happens, you kind of jump into survival mode. I have three children so you just have to carry on, be strong and push forward.
‘Now everything is fine, Theodore is big and healthy, we’re back to normal life. But I do reflect on it, and think what an overwhelming time.
‘We were so close to the edge.’
She advised for those who are experiencing any flu-like symptoms to seek medical help as soon as possible.
‘Trust your instinct, if you’re feeling unwell, don’t hesitate to go and get a blood test done, something like this can spread through you quickly,’ she said.
‘I thought I was fine but I wasn’t. Get help immediately.’
Her story comes after a nationwide poisoning alert was issued this week following the tragic death of two elderly people who died from eating melon between January 17 and February 9.