The confronting trauma the sole survivor of Leongatha’s deadly mushroom lunch faced as he continues his miraculous recovery in hospital – and he’s now on the verge of helping police
- Four people poisoned during a family lunch in Leongatha
- Three died from poisonous beef wellington
- Pastor Ian Wilkinson remains in hospital
- Concerns raised about a mushroom meal
EXCLUSIVE
The sole survivor of a deadly poison mushroom lunch is making leaps forward in his recovery – hoping he can soon help investigators.
Pastor Ian Wilkinson was the only person to survive the poisonous beef wellington served by stay-at-home mother Erin Patterson in Leongatha, Victoria, on July 29.
Daily Mail Australia has been told that Mr Wilkinson recently suffered a scare in hospital when staff served a mushroom fettuccine to patients around him.
Erin Patterson is pictured outside her home, days after serving the killer meal
Ian Wilkinson and Heather Wilkinson (both pictured) became seriously ill after eating wild mushrooms. Mrs Wilkinson died while her husband was in hospital
A source told Daily Mail Australia that relatives of the still incapacitated Wilkinson were shocked when staff started serving the mushroom dish.
Wilkinson, 68, remains in Melbourne’s Austin Hospital after suffering traumatic injuries to his liver from the toxins he allegedly consumed during lunch.
Mr Wilkinson, his wife Heather and her sister Gail and husband Don Patterson were invited to lunch as part of a ‘mediation’ met to discuss Mrs Patterson’s relationship with her estranged husband Simon, who backed out at the last minute.
The source claimed that distraught relatives confronted staff about the dish but were told they would only stop serving the meal if Mr Wilkinson had a specific allergy to mushrooms.
“He’s not there because of an allergy, so there was nothing they could do,” the source said. “They weren’t happy.”
Austin Hospital did not deny the incident occurred. “At Austin Health, we have an extensive menu with a number of meals from a variety of cuisines,” a spokeswoman said.
“We are not in a position to release information about individual meals received by patients.”
The source further claimed that Mr Wilkinson had made great strides in his recovery – despite not having had a liver transplant.
Gail and Don Patterson died after eating the mushrooms. Erin was previously married to their son Simon
Ian Wilkinson remains at Austin Hospital (pictured)
Simon Patterson was supposed to join his parents for the lunch that took their lives
Last month, Simon Patterson told mourners at a memorial service for his parents that his father, who was two years older than Mr Wilkinson, had undergone a liver transplant before he died.
It remains unclear why Mr Wilkinson has not had a transplant.
The source claimed Mr Wilkinson remained too ill to speak to detectives, who continue to investigate how the four victims were poisoned and why.
Mr Wilkinson could hold the key to what really happened.
Daily Mail Australia revealed last month that Mr Wilkinson likely only survived because he was rushed to a hospital known for his illness expertise in the treatment of patients suffering from poisonings.
A hospital insider told Daily Mail Australia that Mr Wilkinson had not been taken to Austin Hospital – recognized as the hospital for Victoria’s most seriously ill patients – for one specific reason that likely saved his life.
“The Austin wasn’t the natural hospital to go to. From Leongatha, the nearest hospital is Monash Medical Center, which is where they normally go. They basically went as far as they could to the hospital,” the source said.
‘The main intensive care unit, and you need the best, you go to The Alfred or Royal Melbourne. They didn’t do that either. The state’s poison control center is in Austin, so that’s why he went there. That means they are more interested in handling the mushrooms than in the intensive care part of it.’
Simon Patterson paid tribute to his parents at a memorial service last month
Don and Gail Patterson’s final resting places in Korumburra