James Michael had no idea that his dream trip to Africa would almost end his life after he contracted schistosomiasis, which is also known as bilharzia.
He went for a swim in Lake Malawi, which is located in southeast Africa when a parasite managed to crawl up inside his genitals and started to lay eggs inside his body.
This type of disease is caused by blood flukes, which are also known as trematode worms.
These worms penetrate the skin and start to lay eggs in blood vessels, which allow them to travel all over the body. They end up attacking the immune system of the body.
James went to visit Africa back in 2017, but the symptoms of the disease started to show in 2018 when he was in London.
The first symptom that he experienced was fatigue, which made him so weak that he had a hard time waking up the stairs.
Talking about the condition that he was in, James said:
I explained to them that something serious was going on. I went to the neurology department and they did blood tests to see what was up. They determined quite quickly that my immune system was attacking my spine, leading to the loss of control of my legs. I was put on a six-month course of steroids to counter this…but they didn’t actually know what had caused this.
Eventually, doctors diagnosed James with schistosomiasis.
This type of disease is caused by an infection that is brought in by a parasitic worm that lives in freshwater that is located in tropical regions.
The worms move around in blood vessels and make their way to organs such as the intestines and liver. After that, they lay eggs all over inside your body.
Doctors gave him medicines that will help his body kill the worms.
He added:
That killed the infection but I was left basically debilitated. They told me there was a 30 percent chance I’d make a full recovery — 10 years from now. It was a horrible feeling — I felt completely helpless, and the odds weren’t good. I couldn’t wish what I’ve been through on anybody.
James had extreme pain, had a lot of acne all over his body, and had constant diarrhea from the steroids that were given to him by the doctors.
He had to use a wheelchair and was on crutches for 4 straight months because of the meds that were given to him to kill the schistosomiasis bacteria in his body.
Recalling the pain and things that he had to endure, James said:
The pain has been like nothing I’ve ever known. Early in my recovery, sometime in January, I had a really terrible acne outbreak that went all down my back and down my arms. I couldn’t sleep for a month because lying on my back hurt. I couldn’t really be under running water either, so I had to shower my front instead. The loss of feeling and use of my legs affected every part of my life. I wasn’t able to exercise much because of the infection, which was hard. In January, I couldn’t use the toilet normally, so had to use a catheter. That was quite embarrassing for me. This has been horrendous. It’s felt like a never-ending mountain I’ve had to climb.
James, who is from Kensington, London, said that he and his 3 friends visited Africa in August 2017 on a trip that was once his dream.
He said that they traveled from Zambia to Zimbabwe before they visited Malawi for 4 days.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of James and the man himself, may he recover fast.