A Phoenix woman who suffered from cancer twice as a child became partially paralyzed by a rare, life-threatening disease after eating homemade fish meal prepared by a friend.
Trinity Peterson-Mayes, 24, fell ill after trying fermented swordfish at a dinner with friends last month.
“Honestly, it tastes terrible,” she told 12News. “It was supposed to be healthy, and I figured I might as well give it a try, and if it wasn’t good, I’d get a stomachache.”
A few days later, Peterson-Metz began having trouble swallowing and speaking, and couldn’t even take a sip of water or swallow his own saliva.
She was rushed to hospital and put on a ventilator, although doctors initially had no idea what was wrong with her.
A Phoenix woman who survived cancer twice as a child contracted a rare life-threatening disease that left her partially paralyzed after eating homemade fish meal prepared by a friend (GoFundMe/Loren Amatruda)
After consulting with neurologists and specialists, Peterson-Metz was diagnosed with botulism, an extremely rare and life-threatening neurological disease caused by toxins that block communication between nerves and muscles.
Her mother, Loren Amatruda, said none of the hospital’s neurologists had seen a real-life case of botulism before and had only read about it.
On average, only two dozen adults in the United States are diagnosed with botulism each year.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are five main types of botulism, all of which are medical emergencies.
Foodborne botulism can result from consuming homemade foods that are canned, preserved, or fermented improperly. Two of the five other people who ate the fermented swordfish also developed botulism, Peterson-Meyers said.
After her diagnosis, a life-saving antitoxin had to be urgently injected from another state to stop the toxin from spreading in Peterson Mays’ body and further paralyzing her. Her mother said she is now on a “long road to recovery” and her body must rebuild nerve connections to regain strength.
Trinity Peterson-Mayes, 24, contracted botulism after trying a plate of fermented swordfish at dinner with friends last month (12News)
Recovery from botulism can take weeks or months, sometimes longer, and often requires extensive rehabilitation and treatment. She also said she would consider changing her eating habits.
“I’m scared of sushi now too. Canned food, sushi, I don’t know that anymore,” she told 12News.
Additionally, Peterson-Metz is a two-time cancer survivor who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer. She survived treatment but was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer, at age 11. She beat cancer again.
“Trinity is only 24 years old, but she has overcome difficulties that most people face in their lifetime,” her mother said.
“After everything she went through as a child, we believe the hardest battle is behind her.”
A GoFundMe page supporting Peterson-Mayes has raised about $8,500 so far.