A dinner with friends turned into a medical nightmare for 24-year-old Trinity Peterson-Mayes after she developed a rare and dangerous illness just hours later.
After eating fermented swordfish at the gathering, Peterson-Mayes began experiencing alarming symptoms. Within 24 hours she lost the ability to swallow, speak, or move normally and rushed to the emergency room after choking while trying to drink coffee.
Doctors diagnosed her with botulism, a rare illness caused by toxins that attack the nervous system and can lead to paralysis or death if not treated quickly. As her condition worsened, she was transferred to specialized care, placed on a ventilator, and given life-saving antitoxin.
Peterson-Mayes is now slowly recovering, though it may take months to regain her strength. Two of the five friends who shared the fish also developed botulism but have since been released from the hospital.
Botulism is extremely rare in the U.S., with about 24 food-borne cases reported each year.