The mom of a teen who died after eating a slug shared a message to the friends who dared him to do it.
Sam Ballard's life changed forever when his mates challenged him to swallow the slimy creature, on a booze-filled night, but no one could have predicted what would become of this fit and healthy 19-year-old if he did so.
Back in 2010, the young man did just that.
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Jimmy Galvin, one of Ballard friends, was there when it happened. He told The Project: "We were sitting over here having a bit of a red wine appreciation night, trying to act as grown ups and a slug came crawling across here.
"The conversation came up, 'should I eat it?' [and] off Sam went. Bang. That's how it happened."
From the moment that slug entered his mouth, he was doomed.
Ballard would later discover that the invertebrate was infected with a parasite known as rat lungworm, which caused him to suffer from severe weakness and pain throughout his legs.
It then lead him to contract a strand of meningitis known as eosinophilic meningoencephalitis, a severe but treatable disease that further worsened his condition.
Heartache ensued for his family as all they could do was watch as he fell into a 420-day coma, and when he woke up he was severely disabled.
Doctors explained how he was paralysed after the parasite escaped to his brain, and all he could do was control his breathing and eyelids.
His mom Katie Ballard became his full-time carer, with him needing attention around the clock.
But she was very clear about the fact she didn't blame Sam's friends for what happened.
She told the NZ Herald: "[Online trolls would say] 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.
"It's tough to fathom that there are people that can't understand there is a very sick kid who has lost everything health-wise. His family have lost him, you know. And all the great times they should have had with him."
She added the boys were 'just being mates'.
Sam passed away in November 2018, aged just 29.
Speaking at his funeral in 2018, Sam's brother Joshua said to his friends: "We don't want you to feel any guilt about what happened that night.
"Your friendship to Sam was extraordinary."
Topics: Australia, World News, Health
Joe Yates