Sam Ballard, who at 19 was permanently disabled after eating a garden slug at a party, has passed away aged 28.
Sam’s passing on Friday was announced to the world by The Sunday Project’s Lisa Wilkinson.
“On Friday, Sam passed away, surrounded by his family and loyal, loving mates,” she told viewers. “His last words to his mum: ‘I love you’.”
In April, The Project brought us the story of Sam.
On a night in 2010, the 19-year-old and his friends were sitting outside, drinking red wine and “trying to act as grown ups”.
When Sam spotted a slug crawling across the patio, he didn’t think twice before saying, “Should I eat it?”
It was a split-second decision that changed Sam’s life forever.
Over the next few days, Sam – a promising football player – began experiencing severe pain in his legs. Doctors originally feared Sam had developed Multiple Sclerosis, like his father, but tests came back negative.
While his mother Katie pushed him in a wheelchair towards the water a few days later, Sam declared he had eaten a slug just a few days earlier.
“Could it be that?” he asked.
Katie responded with, "No-one gets sick from that". But doctors soon discovered Sam had been infected with rat lungworm, which can be carried by slugs and can lead to permanent brain and nerve damage in humans.
Sam fell into a coma, which lasted for 420 days. Sam was paralysed, suffered seizures and could not control his body temperature. He required tube-feeding and 24-hour care.
In an interview with The Project, Sam's friends described the moment they first saw their mate after he fell ill.
"When I walked in, he was very, very gaunt... and there were cables everywhere. It was a big shock," Michael Sheasby told Wilkinson.
"To see in such a quick amount of time how differently someone can look... it's scary. My mate's fighting for his life here," friend Jimmy Galvin added.
At the time, Jimmy and Michael described their visits with their mate.
"We like to sit down and watch the footy... I try and keep it 'matey' and fun and try and do as many of the same things we used to do," Jimmy said.
"He makes me laugh because we'll crack a beer sometimes and when [his mum] goes out of the room he reaches for it... sometimes we put a little bit of beer on his lips.
"He's in there, 100 per cent."
But they still felt responsible for Sam's condition, with Jimmy admitting that he used to apologise to Sam often for "everything that happened".
After the accident, Katie and his family battled with the NDIS to maintain Sam's level of car, all the while being attacked by cruel online trolls.
"Horrible, horrible, horrible stuff... [saying] the boys should be the ones paying for Sam to be looked after, how stupid that a kid does something like that and expects everybody to pay for it," Katie said.
But she didn't blame Sam - or his friends - for what happened.
"Just because you were being mates and doing things together, it's not your fault," Katie said.
"As far as I'm concerned, he didn't do anything wrong... it was just a silly thing."
But Jimmy and Michael say teens - and teenage boys in particular - should always look out for the safety of their mates.
"Just take care of your mates," Jimmy said.
"Before you jump off a roof into a pool, or if you're daring a mate to eat something stupid, just think about it, because it can have the worst consequences.
"Not only on your mate, their family and the rest of your friends, but the rest of your life.
"Just take care of each other."
Top Comments
I HAD to Google...
"What are the symptoms?
Most people may have no symptoms at all. Others may have only mild, short lived symptoms.
Very rarely, rat lung worm causes an infection (infestation) of the brain called eosinophilic meningo-encephalitis. People with this condition may have headaches, a stiff neck, tingling or pain in the skin, fever, nausea, and vomiting. The time between eating the slug or snail and getting sick is usually 1-3 weeks.
Anyone with these symptoms should seek medical assessment although other infections (such as meningococcal disease or pneumococcal disease) are much more likely causes of meningitis in children.
How is it spread?
The adult worms are found in rats. Infected rats excrete the parasite larvae in their faeces. The parasites can then infect snails and slugs that come into contact with infected rat faeces.
People can be infected when they deliberately or accidentally eat a raw snail or slug that contains the lung worm larvae or if they eat unwashed lettuce or other raw leafy vegetables that have been contaminated by the slime of infected snails or slugs. People infected with rat lung worm do not pass the infection on to others.
Who is at risk?
The parasite is more common in some parts of the world, especially in Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands and Australia. People are at risk if they eat raw snails or slugs infected with this parasite, either deliberately or accidentally. For example:
Infants and children sometimes eat snails and slugs they find
People may also inadvertently eat snails and slugs or their slime on lettuces and other raw produce
Overseas travellers may sometimes be at risk especially if they are travelling to countries where the parasite is common and if they eat raw or undercooked fresh produce such as lettuce.
How is it prevented?
Rat lung worm disease can be prevented by some simple measures:
Don't eat raw snails or slugs. If eating snails, ensure they are thoroughly cooked first.
Supervise infants and young children in environments where they may find snails and slugs.
Wash fresh vegetables and lettuces well before eating in case they have snails or slugs (or their slime) on them.
Wash your hands well after gardening or handling snails or slugs.
Consider controlling snails and slugs around vegetable patches and gardens and control vermin around the home. If snail pellets or rodent baits are used it is very important that precautions are taken to ensure young children don't accidentally eat them."
What a terrible price to pay for a moment of youthful foolishness
Especially for the mum...