Luis’ mom called 9-1-1, and paramedics rushed him to Queen of the Valley Medical Center.
Advertisement
Once there, his condition worsened and he lost consciousness.
Singel said the worm was forming a cyst in his brain that was blocking the water flow to chambers in brain. The doctor later told Luis that at that point, he had only about 30 minutes to live.
“I was like, ‘That came out of me?’ It looked pretty gross”, said Ortiz.
Shocked doctors found a tapeworm in his brain, and estimated that Ortiz had only 30 minutes to live unless they took immediate action.
Imagine going to the hospital for a splitting headache and waking up with a tapeworm larvae removed from you brain.
“I don’t know how long that worm was in my head for”. A brain infection can result from eating food prepared by someone who is infected and spreads the larvae through poor sanitation and hygiene.
After the surgery, Ortiz has slight memory loss, but he’s been working on it through therapy and says he’s avoiding pork.
In the aftermath of the procedure, Ortiz dropped out of college and moved back home because he is unable to drive or work.
“I stood up and then I threw up”, said Mr Ortiz. These days, the Napa resident has to remind himself to complete his memory exercises and other tasks.
He’s still not sure how he got infected.
Ortiz didn’t appear to have a tapeworm, said Singel. Ortiz’s strain was from pork, though his doctors say he did not have tapeworms.
“I was really lucky”, said Ortiz.
“The doctor pulled it out and he said it was still wiggling, and I’m like, ‘Ugh, that doesn’t sound too good.’ Like, what are the odds I’d get a parasite in my head?” For travelers, avoid fruit or vegetables that can’t be cooked or peeled.
Advertisement
“I have been staying away from pork ever since”, Ortiz told the Register.
