MATTOON - There's no such thing as rare beef at Chris Roberts' dinner table.

"Everything is very well done, and very seldom do we eat out," she said.

In her kitchen, Chris gives raw fruit and vegetables far more than a cursory dunking under running water.

Meanwhile, hand washing with antibacterial soap is almost a religious activity for every member of this household.

But these aren't paranoid or obsessive behaviors. In light of an illness that almost killed her son two months ago, Chris sees them as reasonable, if not vital, precautions.

A vicious strain of E. coli landed Matt Roberts, 18, in a medically induced coma for 10 days and in the hospital for more than a month. Although he is well on the road to recovery and plans to resume his senior year at Mattoon High School this week, Matt still has no inkling how he contracted the infection.

"I'm just glad to be here," he said.

Mercifully, Matt also has little memory of the traumatic experience, thanks to the combined effects of the coma and pain medication. "There's so much he doesn't know of what happened to him; it's hard for him to grasp," Chris said.

Complications from the infection necessitated arduous procedures such as daily kidney dialysis and regular blood plasma transfusions through a surgically implanted chest tube. "They had a tube in him about everywhere you could put one," Chris said.

And even though Matt's recollection of his near-death experience is sketchy, his loved ones vividly remember every moment of his suffering.

"It puts your life on hold," Chris said. "You do what you need to do. As one of the doctors said, 'It is what it is.' "

Chris was at her son's side every day of his stay at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, as was Matt's girlfriend, Kelly Malloy, who quit her job to do so.

A physician told them, "It's harder on the person that isn't in the bed," Chris said.

Rex Roberts also practically lived in his son's hospital room for about two weeks straight, but he eventually had to go back to a work site in Canada, where his company is erecting a wind turbine. Rex did return on weekends.

Coles County Health Department officials confirmed in early October they did not suspect any area restaurants as the source of Matt's infection or the E. coli contracted by another unidentified Coles County resident, who recovered from the illness relatively quickly.

Nor was Matt anywhere near the Effingham El Rancherito restaurant, to which seven E. coli cases were linked in late September.

And Matt was showing symptoms well before the Effingham outbreak.

On the morning of Sept. 5, he was overcome by nausea, although it initially was no different than the vomiting caused by other common ailments.

His symptoms worsened, however, and his parents took him to the Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center emergency room east of Mattoon the next evening. After an examination, the emergency room physician sent Matt and his parents home, according to Chris.

They returned to the ER on Sept. 7. Matt remained at Sarah Bush for three days, when blood tests indicated the presence of E. coli, and he was transported via ambulance to the surgical intensive care unit at Carle in Urbana.

Carle physicians "told us at that time that we had a very, very sick kid on our hands," Chris said, adding that doctors indicated Matt was only a few steps away from the point of no return.

"Matthew's (infection) had advanced so far, it affected every organ of his body," she said.

On Sept. 12, he was put into a coma to make numerous upcoming procedures, such as dialysis and chest catheterization, a little easier.

Matt emerged from the coma Sept. 22, and he was transferred to Carle's pediatric floor on Sept. 26.

As a result of E. coli complications, Matt's red blood cells were depleted to dangerously low levels. This required regular plasma transfusions until Oct. 18.

He was released from Carle on Oct. 8, but he returned two days later for an outpatient plasma transfusion.

Throughout the ordeal, the Roberts family received an outpouring of community support, according to Chris. "It was phenomenal; that's what kept us going every day," she said.

Matt intends to go back to school beginning this week. "I feel good," he said.

He'll only attend for three hours per day, and classes are in session for a mere three days because of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Still, that's an ambitious schedule for the teenager and his family, all of whom have adopted a greater sense of caution following a relapse of symptoms six days after Matt was first released from the hospital.

"They told us he could have 'minor setbacks,' " Chris said.

"He's got a long road ahead."

Nathaniel West can be reached at nwest@jg-tc.com or 238-6860.