Kyra Hall
A man was dared to eat a slug by friends, leading to tragedy.
Sam Ballard, from Sydney, Australia, was joking with friends over a glass of red wine in 2010 when a slug crawled across his pal’s concrete patio.
The group then dared the 19-year-old to eat the slimy creature, and so he did – ultimately, this action changed his life forever.
At first, everything seemed fine and the friends continued with their evening, but days later, the avid rugby player began to complain of his health.
He was experiencing nausea, head pains, and dizziness, and as his condition worsened, his mom began to worry he had multiple sclerosis, which had afflicted his father.
Yet doctors didn’t believe this was the case.
Ballard told his mom he’d eaten a slug, to which she responded: “No, no one gets sick from that.”
However, to everyone’s shock, doctors confirmed the mollusk was the cause of his symptoms.
Doctors learned that Ballard had developed rat lungworm disease, also known as angiostrongyliasis or neuro angiostrongyliasis.
The rare but serious disease is caused by a parasitic roundworm that lives in rodents and can infect snails, slugs, and other animals.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says humans are accidental hosts who do not transmit infection to others. Most cases of the infection are diagnosed in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Basin, however, the parasite has also been found in Australia, among other areas.
While most cases of rat lungworm disease are mild, this sadly wasn’t the case for Ballard.
Not long after being diagnosed, Ballard fell into a 420-day coma. When he eventually woke up, he was paralyzed, and unable to eat without a tube or move without a huge amount of effort. He also required 24-hour care, seven days a week, reports CNN.
Ballard’s family and friends said the disease didn’t affect his mental abilities, with pal Jimmy Galvin telling The Sunday Project: “He’s in there, 100%.”
He added: “I apologized to Sam about everything that happened that night in the backyard. And he just started bawling his eyes out. I know he’s there.”
In a 2011 Facebook post, Ballard’s mom expressed hope for her son’s future.
She wrote (per MailOnline): “Sam is doing really well. He is still the same cheeky Sam, and laughs a lot.”
Heartbreakingly, Ballard never made a full recovery.
He was eventually released from the hospital but for the rest of his life, he needed round-the-clock care, had to use a motorized wheelchair, and was prone to seizures.
As 24/7 care is costly, his friends formed ‘Team Ballard,’ helping to raise enough money for his initial medical care.
But after some time, this wasn’t enough.
While Ballard became eligible for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in 2016, his plan was cut shortly after, leaving his family in debt, reports Metro.
The NDIS said it was ‘working closely with the Ballard family’ to find a solution to the matter and increase Ballard’s package.
In 2018, Ballard tragically passed away at the age of 29.
Ballard’s family has insisted his friends must not feel any blame for the tragic outcome of that night.
The Sunday Project‘s Lisa Wilkinson said of Ballard’s friends: “I have rarely met a finer group of young men.
“They made a mistake, a spur-of-the-moment muck around of unforeseen consequences that should not define them. And their love and support for Sam has never wavered in the years since.”
In this special report @Lisa_Wilkinson talks to the amazing family and friends of Sam Ballard #TheProjectTV pic.twitter.com/UXY5KGeWjF
— The Project (@theprojecttv) April 1, 2018
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