Even with the lessons we’ve learned from our parents, teachers, foolish friends, and countless movies and TV shows, it’s entirely possible that each and every one of us will do something stupid when we’re young. Luckily, most of the mistakes we make in our wild youth tend to be damaging only to our pride and reputation. Not everyone is so lucky, however.
Some stupid mistakes like driving under the influence, breaking and entering, or being a little too fervent with someone you’d like to get to know better, can be life-changing. Though many of them are made in the moment, these decisions can wind up costing us our entire future.
A Good Kid
Sam Ballard was a normal young man, maybe a little bit boisterous at times, but an all-around good kid if you asked his family. If you asked his friends, they’d tell you much the same thing. He was a fun guy, the life of the party, and though he may have pushed the envelope, he never really did anything wrong.
Wine Night
This particular distinction may seem innocuous at first but will become much more important as Sam’s tragic story unfolds. The tragedy itself began on a night like many others. Sam and his friends were hanging out in his backyard, drinking some red wine and laughing raucously.
One Drunken Night
To give true credit to Sam, it must be understood that everyone around him generally thought of him as a larrikin, a rambunctious, often badly behaved young man. It was 2010 and 19-year-old Sam was about to make a decision that would not only change his own life, but it would also change the lives of everybody around him forever.
Idle Chatter
Sam’s friend, Jimmy Galvin, recalled the moment years later in the wake of Sam’s passing. “We were sitting over here having a bit of a red wine appreciation night, trying to act as grown up and a slug came crawling across here,” he explained. Strange and harmless as it may sound, it was that slug that would change everything.
One Drunken Dare
The unassuming slug crawled slowly passed them, making its painfully slow way across the concrete patio. Buzzed as the whole lot of them were, the teenage boys began to discuss the little mollusk. A dare emerged and one of the boys suggested that Sam should eat it. Sam looked around at his mates and considered it.
Crazy Sam
The consideration didn’t last long, a moment later and the teen had picked up and swallowed the poor creature. Oddly enough, he didn’t throw up. He took the dare like a man. Everyone cheered him on. Though he felt no ill effects that night, or even a few days afterward, Sam did notice that something seemed off in the coming days.
Nothing to Worry About
A few days after the slug dare, Sam was feeling some pretty intense pain in his legs. He worried that it might have had something to do with the slug, but his mother assured him he was fine. Australia may have had its fair share of venomous animals, but no one ever got sick from eating poor, defenseless slug.
Medical History
Sam’s next concern was that he was beginning to develop Multiple sclerosis, a condition that his father had suffered with. That diagnosis was quickly ruled out, which gave him some relief. The leg pain continued and more tests had to be done to determine the cause. What Sam and his mother didn’t know, however, was that they were running out of time.
A Rare Disease
Doctors did more tests and soon discovered the cause of Sam’s increasingly-severe illness. Somehow, the teen had gotten himself a parasite known as Angiostrongylus cantonensis, otherwise known as rat lungworm. It’s a parasite that is usually found in rodents, but thanks to their propensity for eating rat feces, can also be found in snails and slugs.
Rat Lungworm
That wasn’t even the worst of it. A rat lungworm parasite infection can also lead to other, more dangerous diseases as well. In time, Sam contracted a serious case of eosinophilic meningo-encephalitis. It’s a debilitating disease that many people eventually recover from. Sam, however, would never fully recover.
Coma
Soon after the diagnosis, Sam’s doctor’s began treatment. It was too late though, he soon fell into a coma. He wouldn’t wake up until more than a year later, 420 days to be precise. When he did finally wake, his condition has worsened severely. He had a brain injury and was no longer able to move or speak.
Needing Help
Nevertheless, he still seemed to be the same cheeky young man as before, if only a bit more subdued. Unable to feed himself, go to the bathroom, or even walk properly, Sam needed round-the-clock-care. Sam’s mother, Katie Ballard, was devastated of course, as was Sam, and the coming years would test both of them in many ways.
Working Hard
At first, Sam wasn’t able to move his limbs at all. In this, he depended on his mother and friends immensely for help. Eventually, through hard work, perseverance, and a fair bit of physical therapy, he was able to reclaim some movement. Still, the chances of Sam coming back fully to his old self were slim.
Hope for Recovery
One of Katie Ballard’s Facebook post from 2011 indicates a hope that her “rough-and-tumble Sam” would eventually recover. It was something most mothers would hope for, the idea that the person they thought they’d lost would come back to them someday. It couldn’t have been easy for Katie either, taking care of Sam’s every need for so long a time.
Fighting for Sam
In the years following the slug incident, Katie spent years fighting for adequate care for her son. When all was said and done, the family received an initial sum of $471,000 towards Sam’s care. Meanwhile, Sam’s friends came over whenever they could. It was a shock at first, seeing him all tied up to cables and unable to move, but it was still Sam after all.
Sharing Beer
Sam and Jimmy would watch football together and even share a sip of beer if Katie left them alone for a while. In time, Sam began to respond more clearly to their questions and prompts. He knew what was going on and he knew they were there. This was especially true on the day Jimmy decided to apologize.
Could Have Stopped It
While they were sitting and watching football one day, Jimmy looked over to Sam and apologized for not stopping him from eating the slug that night. If he’d only stepped in and prevented that seemingly-innocuous bit of idiocy from happening, all of the pain could have been prevented. Sam began to bawl his eyes out at the admission and the two cried together.
Eight Years Hence
Sam was mostly paralyzed for over eight years following that fateful night. He never fully recovered as his mother Katie hoped and recently passed away from his condition. Despite how hard he tried and the love of his friends and family, Sam just couldn’t go on fighting. He was not alone at the end.
Sticking With Sam
Sam passed away surrounded by his family and loyal, loving friends. Even at the end, he was able to get out last words. He told his mother, “I love you” and passed from the world. His friends, the same friends who were with him the night of that youthful mistake, stuck by his side for the entirety of his struggle.
Safety
Sam’s mistake was a simple one, he was young and he leaped without looking where he was going. It was a stupid mistake, one that but for a twist of fate, may not have ended his young life the way it did. Hopefully, Sam’s example will help to keep millions safer from the same fate. Don’t eat slugs, kids.
