Roush Fenway crew chief Eddie Pardue returns to track after missing three races
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Roush Fenway Racing crew chief Eddie Pardue is back in the NASCAR Nationwide Series garage this weekend at Daytona International Speedway as his four-year-old daughter, Lani, recovers in a Charlotte, N.C., hospital.
Lani Pardue was hit with the E. coli virus, which turned into hemolytic-uremic syndrome, a disease that shut down her kidneys. Eddie Pardue missed races at Kentucky, Milwaukee and Loudon while his daughter was in the hospital.
“This is the first time I’ve ever had to go through anything like this,” Pardue said. “Not being able to do anything – even a lot of the doctors [said] a lot of it is supportive care. There’s no treatment for the E. coli, there’s no treatment for the HUS. The dialysis is the treatment.”
Lani is the Pardues’ only daughter.
“This past three days, she’s [been] more herself,” Pardue siad. “She’s starting to play a little bit and smile a little bit – do things that kids do. She was playing with toys a little bit in her bed. The two weeks prior to that, she was not happy, sick.”
Lani first became sick before the Kentucky race, so her parents took her to an urgent-care center. The following Monday, she was getting worse, so they took her to the main Carolinas Medical Center before checking in to Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte.
Lani has been receiving kidney dialysis for some time, but Pardue said doctors are hopeful her kidneys will start working soon. He said she could be in the hospital anywhere from another week to another month.
“She’s through the worst part,” Pardue said. “Right now, it’s just doing dialysis every day and waiting for her kidneys to start back up.”
Pardue is crew chief for Roush Fenway’s No. 16 Ford, which is being driven this weekend by Matt Kenseth.
