The jury is now hearing about the day after the lunch from guest Ian Wilkinson, who would become the only guest to survive the meal.
That morning – July 30, 2023 – Heather spoke on the phone with Don or Gail Patterson and learnt that they too were unwell.
Don Patterson (left), Gail Patterson, Heather Wilkinson and Ian Wilkinson were poisoned by a mushroom meal.
First, Ian called in sick. “I had time to ring another church member and arrange sending my sermon notes and the order of service by email to that person, and they were going to run the service in my absence,” Ian says.
Later, Simon Patterson knocked on the door to see if he could assist.
The jury heard that Simon was worried and asked them to call an ambulance. At that stage, his parents, Don and Gail, had already called an ambulance.
“Heather and I said, ‘Oh no, this is just a case of gastro. You know, in a few hours, we’ll be right’.”
The jury heard they eventually called an ambulance, but the operator told them there were delays and suggested they make their own way to hospital. Simon drove them to Korumburra, which was at capacity, so he took them to Leongatha.
“I was pretty keen to get to the hospital because I needed to find the toilet again,” Ian told jurors.
“So I went to the toilet and sat with Simon in the waiting area of the urgent care. Simon filled out forms on our behalf, and then we were ushered into the care area, and Simon left to go back to the church,” Ian said.
At Leongatha Hospital, Ian says he and Heather discussed the fact that lunch had been served on differently coloured plates. “I think she just plainly said there were different coloured plates in a conversation, wondering why we were ill,” Ian tells the court.
The jury hears that hospital staff soon determined they were likely experiencing food poisoning.
“My memory was that suspicion was falling on the meat,” Ian says, adding that he could not recall any reference to the mushrooms at that stage. Ian says they wanted to head home, but the doctors were worried about their health and told them they would be admitted to the ward.
“We did get some sleep. We were absolutely exhausted by this time,” Ian tells the court.
Ian says he didn’t need to use the toilet during the night.
Ian says they were abruptly awoken the next morning by a group of nurses who took them to the urgent care area, where a doctor awaited them.
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