Eating the whole slug is a dare suggested by his friend during his 19th birthday. Then his whole life changes.
Sam Ballard was an active Australian youth and talented rugby player who his mom praised as 'invincible', before his 19th birthday party.
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Footy player Sam Ballard becomes paraplegic after swallowing slug as a dare at a 19th birthday party
All changed suddenly after he took the challenge to swallow a garden slug in his friend's house in 2010. Sam soon fell sick and was sent to the hospital. He was diagnosed to be infected with rat lungworm and contracted meningitis.
Sam used to show sign of rallying but later he fell into a coma for 420 days.Then, he spent three years in hospital and will now be confined to a wheelchair for life. He still suffers kinds of seizures and needs round-the-clock care as he has to be tube fed.
Sam's mother Katie Ballard was hopeful at first but later she said: 'It’s devastated, changed his life forever, changed my life forever. It’s huge. The impact is huge.'
Katie applied to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) when Sam became eligible for a $492,000 package in 2016. But last September, their funding was cut massively to around $135,000 without warning or explanation.
Footy player Sam Ballard becomes paraplegic after swallowing slug as a dare at a 19th birthday party
And the nursing service made the family $42,000 in debt. The NDIS said it had been ‘working closely with the Ballard family’ to increase Sam’s support package.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — It’s perhaps Rio de Janeiro’s hardest trail, featuring one particularly daunting section requiring a perilous scramble that can cause hikers to freeze up with fright.
But this week, Ezequiel da Luz, a 40-year-old paraplegic, traversed jungle and surmounted rocks to reach Pedra da Gavea’s peak that towers over the Atlantic Ocean.
Da Luz had been waiting since 2021, and traveled more than 1,000 kilometers (about 620 miles) by bus from southern Brazil when his chance arrived to ascend with the assistance of an organization called the Inclusion Collective. Its volunteers on Dec. 18 surrounded and shouldered the weight of a specialized wheelchair, set inside a metal frame as they helped da Luz upward.
“What logistics!” da Luz exclaimed as their tightly packed throng helped him weave through one narrow stretch at the start of the trail.
Inclusion Collective started three years ago and has completed more than 50 hikes, 12 of which to Pedra da Gavea, plus others on less challenging trails, according to Bruna Souza, the group’s administrator. In da Luz's home city of Balneario Camboriu, he is a jiu-jitsu fighter and has competed internationally.
“We can show that if we have the will, inclusion can happen anywhere, not just where there’s a ramp,” she told The Associated Press along the trail. “It’s not just shopping centers you can go to; you can go to other places. It can be fun for everyone.”
Volunteers on Wednesday were mostly trail and climbing guides already familiar with the route. They were joined by hikers who encouraged da Luz during his eight-hour ascent, with 800 meters (2,600 feet) of elevation gain. At the infamously hair-raising section, called Carrasqueira, volunteers used a system of ropes to hoist his chair.
“I’ve never seen anything like this in terms of accessibility, people helping,” said Adriele Neves, a 29-year-old hiker. “It’s beautiful work.”
With Carrasqueira conquered, it was straight on to the summit. As da Luz wheeled himself forward, waving a Brazilian flag in the air, volunteers and other hikers already atop the mountain erupted in applause.
“I didn’t know it had so many challenges, and so many obstacles,” he told the AP atop the mountain. “Today, to be up here on Pedra da Gavea, together with this group that promotes inclusion, is the fulfilment of a dream.”
Alas, the peak was shrouded in clouds, leaving Rio de Janeiro’s Ipanema beach and iconic Two Brothers Hill hidden away. It seemed da Luz wouldn’t get to enjoy Pedra da Gavea’s majestic view.
But within mere minutes, the clouds parted and some sunlight filtered down from the heavens, maybe just for him.
“Even in this, God was generous,” da Luz said. “Look there, what an incredible view. What a marvelous vision!”
Volunteers with an organization that aims to increase accessibility in trails walk an inclusive route up Pedra da Gavea in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucas Dumphreys)
Ezequiel da Luz, a para-athlete with an amputated leg and no movement in his lower limbs, smiles in a wheelchair as he is taken on an inclusive route at Pedra da Gavea, with an organization that aims to increase accessibility in trails, in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucas Dumphreys)
Volunteers reach the top of Pedra da Gavea, during a project to increase accessibility in trails in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucas Dumphreys)
Ezequiel da Luz, a para-athlete with an amputated leg and no movement in his lower limbs, takes a selfie in a wheelchair as he is taken on an inclusive route up Pedra da Gavea with an organization that aims to increase accessibility in trails, in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucas Dumphreys)
Volunteers with an organization that aims to increase accessibility in trails begin an inclusive walk up Pedra da Gavea, in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucas Dumphreys)
Ezequiel da Luz, a para-athlete with an amputated leg and no movement in his lower limbs, celebrates reaching the top of Pedra da Gavea, with an organization that aims to increase accessibility in trails, in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Lucas Dumphreys)
