A Wentzville mother is asking for answers from the U.S. Navy, following the mysterious death of her daughter. She believes raw sewage in the barracks bathroom, may have been a contributing factor.

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Patty Thomson

For two months, doctors tried unsuccessfully to diagnose Patty Thomson and her mother has no proof of what caused her death. But she says it's suspicious that Thomson would become so sick, so soon after exposure to sewage.

Cecilia Thomson says, "When we give our kids to the military, we do so knowing that death may be the outcome. But we expect that death to be in defending our country not in cleaning up a toilet."

It appeared to be more than that. After Christmas, Thomson returned to the Little Creek Naval Base where she was stationed. According to her mother, the bathroom was filled with backed up sewage that had sat for ten days, she and her roommate were told they needed to clean it up.

Cecilia Thomson says, "They sent them in with rubber gloves, scrub brush and some detergent they told them don't get it on your skin."

The next day, both women fell ill. But while one recovered, Patty Thomson kept getting worse. Her mother kept a log:

December 28th was the waste cleanup, followed by a loss of appetite.
January 2nd, there was vomiting and abdominal pain.
By the 8th, she was losing vision.
By early February, the list of symptoms had grown to include back pain, itching, seizures and strokes.

Cecilia Thomson says, "She was losing strength, coordination, just being able to breathe."

Doctors in Virginia were baffled. Eventually, 19-year old Patty Thomson came home to Missouri and was admitted to Barnes Jewish hospital. This was early March.

Her mother says, "They were going to do more spinal taps and send them in different directions to try to figure out exactly what was going on... and she died. They were very surprised. The doctors didn't expect it."

Patty's mother has written letters asking for an investigation into her death. She wants to know why the chief of barracks ordered her daughter to clean up the sewage.

She says, "Even if I can never prove that this caused her death, it was a wrong call on this guy's part. They have people that are trained in waste cleanup."

The Navy has begun an investigation and a spokesperson wrote the Thomsons an e-mail saying there is no apparent link between the clean up and the death. In fact, they mention a possible pre-existing medical condition. Meanwhile, the Thomson family is waiting on an autopsy.

Cecilia Thomson says, "It may never tell me what I need to know to pinpoint it to this. I'll just have to wait on that. But looking at all this, I can't imagine it came from anywhere else."

The full autopsy could take up to six months. The Thomsons expect results of a preliminary investigation from the Navy later this week.