Swallowed a slug, fell into a coma, and died 8 years later: How a harmless dare went horribly wrong (16 photos)

In 2010, Sam Ballard was a carefree Australian teenager who loved sports, played rugby, and never imagined his life would be turned upside down. It all changed because of a simple dare with friends. One evening, while sitting in the backyard, his friends challenged Sam to eat a slug.

He went through with it—and eight years later, after spending years paralyzed, he passed away. Here is the heartbreaking story of what happened that night.







Sam Ballard made the biggest mistake of his life when he was just 19 years old. One evening in 2010, he was hanging out with friends. They were drinking, laughing, and having a good time, with no inkling of the tragedy ahead…

"We were sitting in the backyard, drinking red wine, trying to act like adults," one of Sam's friends later recalled. "Then we noticed a slug crawling by."





The conversation quickly shifted. The guys started joking that no one would be brave enough to eat the gross creature. That's when Sam suddenly declared, "I will!"—and swallowed it right then and there.



Shortly afterward, the young man started feeling unwell, complaining of severe pain in his legs. His mother, Katie Ballard, feared he might have multiple sclerosis, the same condition his father suffered from. She took him to the hospital, but tests ruled out MS. What doctors eventually uncovered was far worse…



It turned out the slug was infected with a parasite known as Angiostrongylus cantonensis. Once inside his body, it caused angiostrongyliasis—a severe infection that severely damages the brain.





Sam Ballard surrounded by his friends

Shortly after his diagnosis, Sam fell into a coma. He remained comatose for 420 days, and when he finally woke up, he was paralyzed.





Sam was unable to eat or drink on his own and required round-the-clock care. Yet, according to his loved ones, he was still fully aware of everything happening around him.



Sam's friend Jimmy Galvin said he witnessed this firsthand during a hospital visit.

"I apologized to him for what happened that night, and he started crying," Galvin said. "I'm certain he was in there, understanding every word."



Former Australian sprinter Matt Shirvington with Sam Ballard at a fundraiser held for his treatment



Sam spent the following years in hospitals fighting the condition. Despite all efforts, the only progress he made was regaining slight movement in his legs.





Katie Ballard with her son, Sam

Sam's mother and friends barely left his bedside, even though seeing him in that state was heartbreaking for them.

"He looked so frail," recalled Sam's friend Michael Sheasby. "There were tubes and wires everywhere. It was devastating to watch."



On the morning of November 2, 2018, surrounded by 20 of his closest family members and friends, Sam Ballard passed away at Hornsby Hospital. His final words were spoken to his mother: "I love you."



The Angiostrongylus cantonensis parasite, commonly known as the rat lungworm, lives in the lungs of rats and is excreted in their feces. If freshwater or terrestrial mollusks ingest the parasite and are later consumed by a human, infection can occur, leading to angiostrongyliasis. The disease causes severe damage to the central nervous system, with the worst outcomes being paralysis or death.