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The illness is extremely rare. On average, two dozen adults are diagnosed each year in the U.S., according to doctors.
PHOENIX — A woman is recovering from a rare and life-threatening illness that many doctors only read about in medical textbooks.
Trinity Peterson-Mayes, 24, was perfectly healthy just weeks ago, but a meal with friends last month left her nearly paralyzed, 12News reported.
Peterson-Mayes, a wedding planner, said everything changed after she tried her friend’s homemade fermented swordfish.
“It tasted horrible, I’m going to be so honest,” she said. “It’s supposed to be healthy, and I figured I might as well try, if it’s bad, and I’ll just get a bad stomach ache.”
Within days, she said she began noticing something frightening.
“I noticed that when I was chugging water, I wouldn’t be able to chug it. It was going down the wrong pipe, and then slowly, over the course of 24 hours, I went from not being able to chug water to not being able to drink any water at all,” she said.
After nearly choking on a sip of coffee, she rushed to the hospital. At first, doctors were unsure what was wrong.
“They wanted to send me home after the first hospital I went to,” she said.
Peterson-Mayes insisted something wasn’t right. After being transferred for specialized neurological care at St. Joseph’s Medical Center and Barrow Neurological Institute, doctors diagnosed her with botulism.
“Botulism is extremely rare, and most emergency physicians go their whole career without seeing a case,” said emergency physician Dr. Frank LoVecchio, who added that there are about two dozen cases of food botulism per year on average.
Botulism is caused by a bacteria-produced toxin that can grow in low-oxygen environments, including improperly canned foods.
“It’s a neurological toxin which can cause blurred vision,” LoVecchio said. “It causes this paralysis of your muscles, and most important being, you know, your chest muscles, those that are responsible for breathing.”
As the toxin spread, Peterson-Mayes’ condition worsened, and she was placed on a ventilator.
“I woke up, and I had three IVs. I was intubated, I had a central line in my neck, and I had an NG tube … and I just woke up, and I couldn’t move at all. It was very scary,” she said.
A life-saving antitoxin was administered, and Peterson-Mayes is now beginning the slow process of recovery.
“I wasn’t able to talk before,” she said. “I wasn’t able to walk.”
She said five other friends also ate the fermented swordfish. Two of them developed botulism, as well.
Peterson-Mayes said her friends are now out of the hospital. She expects to leave Barrow Neurological Institute in about a week but said it could take months before she feels normal again.
She is no stranger to medical battles. Peterson-Mayes previously survived childhood cancer twice.
An online fundraiser has been started to help cover medical bills and living expenses.
As for her diet going forward, seafood might be off the menu for a while.
“I am scared of sushi now too,” she said. “Canned food, sushi, I don’t know about that anymore.”
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