Sam Ballard was an Australian rugby player whose life took a tragic turn in 2010 when he swallowed a slug on a dare from his friends. Unbeknownst to him, the slug was infected with Angiostrongylus cantonensis, also known as rat lungworm, a parasitic worm that can cause severe neurological complications in humans. Shortly after ingesting the slug, Ballard developed eosinophilic meningitis, a rare but serious brain infection. He fell into a coma for 420 days and, when he woke up, was left with sev