Dares always have the potential to ignite passion in people regardless of their age. Some of them are healthy and revitalize the spirit of competition among people but not all of them, the others could cost a person's valuables on stake. The same happened with an Australian man, David Dowell who took a dare just in fun at the Christmas party but later paid in the most unexpected way.
It was the advent of December and Christmas was approaching, the Dowell's family had countless invitations to Christmas parties. David Dowell's letterbox had already flooded with Christmas cards. He was the life and soul of the parties and it was one of those parties that he had met his then-wife.
Allira Brickwell knew she had hit a lifetime lottery when she met David one evening at her friend's party and married him soon after their first meeting. It was an instant connection and an unknown spark that she had felt with him. Even after 15 years of marriage, she could still feel the liveliness.
David was not only a caring husband but was also a doting father to all his 3 kids. He was everything a woman could expect from a partner. Allira always felt she couldn't be more lucky to find a husband and a best friend all in one person. Then what happened that her happy world turned upside down?
Despite of several invites to the parties, David Dowell had decided to do it differently that year. He called up all his friends and they decided to meet up at one place to celebrate Christmas, it had been years since they all had met so his happiness was on the peak. Moreover, he was enthusiastic to meet his friends' kids and to know what his friends were up to nowadays.
Soon they started to prepare for Christmas. He had personally handpicked gifts for all his friends. But this was no surprise for Allira that he knew his friend's choice even after so many years because he had always been the person who would notice and remember every detail. This was one of the reasons why she had fell head over heels in love with him.
Finally, the day came that they had been waiting and preparing for so long. They packed up the gifts in the car and drove to the destined place. As they reached, they were greeted by their old friends and they started to introduce their wives and kids to each other. David was amazed to see how decades had passed but still, the warmth and love remain unworn.
Gradually the night started to take its course and so did the fun, everyone around was in a jolly mood and toasted to the upcoming festivals and happiness. Allira had not seen David this cheerful and dancing his heart out in years since they got married. Then in this jolly mood what could have happened that would change their lives forever?
When Allira was busy with the kids and other guests in the adjacent room, David and his other friends proposed him a dare. David was always the one who would be ready to take any challenges no matter the consequences and had always won the bet. So this time too, he took the challenge without having a clue what he was putting on stake.
For them, it was just for fun and a little dare without being aware of the consequences and what trouble they were putting David into. Unlike the previous bets he had accepted and won, this was a very unusual bet that his friends had proposed. Would he accept the unusual bet no matter the consequences and prove his daring just like the former days.
To everyone's surprise, David accepted the dare without even giving it a second thought and did what he was asked to do. He completed the dare in no time and everyone applauded with ear-deafening cheer. They were flabbergasted by David's spirit and was in awe of his courage and daring attitude.
After David had completed the dare, there was a huge round of applause for his bravery among the boys. Allira heard the applause and looked in the direction of the group in which David was also standing. Unaware of the dare, she cheered them too and clapped, wishing to know what they were rejoicing for. If at all she would have known, she might have stopped the blunder from happening.
After the alarm had rung several times, Allira woke up and snoozed the alarm. As she caught the glimpse of the clock from her half-opened eyes she was totally taken aback that how long she had slept. Usually, David used to wake her with morning tea and today there was no sign of him. She turned to the other side of the bed and he was not there. Where he might have gone in the morning?
She sat on her bed abruptly while her eyes were still searching for her husband. When she couldn't find him she called out his name loudly and stood up from the bed. When he didn't get any reply she anxiously walked out of the room and ran downstairs to search him. David was sitting on the couch while his arms were tightly woven around his stomach.
Allira ran towards David to see what had happened and put a hand on David's shoulder. He looked in unbearable pain, Allira rushed to get a medicine from the adjacent room as she suspected he must have eaten something wrong that his stomach was hurting.
Although Allira had already given him medicine, the pain continued. His wife then suggested him to take a day off from the work and take rest. As the kids and the mother left for the work, he was still in agony.No amount of medicine, rest and food could help him get rid of the pain rather the pain increased as the day came to an end. What could have caused such a pain in his stomach?
David's situation was getting worse as the days passed. Nobody knew what to do let alone take any action. David's sister Hannah too, flew back to the city as his condition deteriorated more. His stomach was bloated and the pain was still unbearable. So without wasting any more time the family called the paramedics as it seemed the only ray of hope.
To their surprise, the paramedics refused to take him as they insisted that it was just stomach ache and nothing serious. But the women just couldn't let go and begged until they agreed to take him. Everyone in the family was now afraid and confused with the unexpected string of events that were happening.
By the time they had reached the doctor his condition was just unmanageable that they even weren't able to look at him in this pain. There were symptoms they had never seen or heard in any disease or infection. Just like the paramedics the doctor too suspected it to be gastro and nothing else. So after a lot of persuasions, the doctors finally agreed to examine him.
David's symptoms were something that concerned everyone because they had never seen and doctors too were apprehensive about his condition and were suspected it to be more than a normal infection. And they just worsened with time all they saw the whole day was "black urine, green vomit, and fluid in his lungs".It was intolerable to watch him in so much pain but still, they were unable to do anything.
As the doctors examined him, he was diagnosed with salmonella which was generally found in raw meats, poultry or unpasteurized milk. Salmonellosis was an illness found if some live salmonella bacteria had entered the body. Allira thought what he had eaten that he was in such a situation. Would she be able to find out?
Generally, in this condition, the patient suffers through days of fever, headache, cold and chill but David's symptoms were far more severe and painful than any common salmonella infection. With endless green vomit, black urine, his stomach was bloating like he was six months pregnant, his family knew this couldn't be just salmonella.
The family was trying to figure out what David could have eaten that he had landed up in such a life-threatening situation. During that time, a friend who was present at the Christmas party that night came up and revealed something so unanticipated that they couldn't believe what they heard. What possibly could have the man said that was so hard to believe?
A friend came up in the midst of all this chaos only to add more complications. He reminded everyone about the dare that they were applauding him for might be the reason that David was in a life-threatening situation. So what was the dare that had put David's life on stake?
According to the friend, that night David was dared to swallow a gecko. After hearing this everyone was stunned for a while and their hands were on their mouth to hide the shock. The friend further added that he might have allegedly eaten a gecko at the Christmas party that night but they are not sure as if he just pretended to take in the gecko or actually had swallowed it.
Allira too remembered the night at the party and the incidents that she didn't pay attention to then, now she regretted not knowing it if she had any idea and then she might have tried to stop it from happening. But it was just a wild guess that he might have swallowed it. Was it true or just a random guess?
After fighting from the disease David, unfortunately, died one week later in the operating room. The doctors did everything they could but still couldn't save him. The family was in the trauma from the sudden demise of David. Allira just had the shock of her life but she said.“I didn’t want him remembered like this, I want to remember the happy times."
Even after David died, there were many speculations that didn't rest as his body in the coffin. There were numerous people present when David took the challenge but none of them were sure if he had swallowed the gecko or just pretended to take it in the mouth.
Allira wouldn't just let it go and tried every bit to find the truth. They even questioned the doctor's treatment. "His testicles were swollen up to grapefruits and there was fluid leaking from them and they (doctors) said that was normal," she said. She even remembered the first time that the paramedics refused to take him to the hospital as they thought it was just the gastro problem and they had to literally beg to take him.
The family felt that David wasn't given the right treatment. His wife said in an interview "It was like they didn’t really care. The moment he got moved into the intensive care unit, that’s when they got serious."Hannah, his sister added "We also asked why they didn’t give him a catheter and they said they didn’t think of that. We had to ask for pain relief for David…He was put into a coma because they couldn’t control his pain,We never really got to say goodbye to him.”
The Mater hospital in which David was entered said it was hard to comment on Mr. Dowell's death was tragic and it seemed as "basically rotted from the inside out.”They too gave a condolence statement, “Mater offers its deepest condolences to the family of Mr.David Dowell. Mr.Dowell’s case was referred to the coroner, who determined Mater had provided appropriate care and no further action was required. Mater is unable to comment further on the case due to patient confidentiality.”
The family, however, wanted justice or answers more than condolence which they believe they were not given. They didn't have any idea what happened to his body in the last few days before he died. The family wanted to know the truth so that they could at least save someone else's life. So what could have been the reason for David's death was it just the infection or something else?
If the theories of the taxonomist would be considered they believe Spirometra tapeworm, a type of tapeworm that grows inside frogs, snakes, and lizards was the real culprit in David's death. They are the types of worms that can grow up to four feet in length and reside inside the host body and might get lost while finding their way and end up in the brain or spinal cord.
They generally enter a host through the consumption of contaminated water or eating infected snakes, birds or animals. It can then affect any organ or tissues if they enter the body of the host. Their primary hosts are cats dogs or raccoons etc but if they enter the body of humans they cause a disease called sparganosis.
The Spirometra has a life cycle of 3 hosts which is complex. Dogs, cats or some other mammals can become their definitive hosts in which they can survive up to 9 years in their small intestine. Inside the intestine, they produce many un-embryonated eggs that are passed through animal dung. As soon as they are in the freshwater they hatch to their larval stage.
They are then consumed by some aquatic animals which in turn are eaten by fishes or reptiles and hence they become their second host and the life cycle continues. Humans too can accidentally become their second host if they consume partially baked meat or contaminated water.
The same might have happened with David when he had swallowed the reptile to complete the dare at Christmas Party that night. Because otherwise, the possibility of being diagnosed by sparganosis is seldom in humans. It was extremely late and the stage of David's had worsened before they could even realize what had actually happened.
From the beginning, the paramedics, as well as the doctors, suspected it to be just gastro and hence took it lightly. Only the family had a suspicion that it was just more than a gastro even when a day after he was diagnosed with salmonella they suspected it to be more than that. Hence their assumptions were true.
David, unfortunately, passed away in agony allegedly after two weeks of the party leaving 3 kids and a wife behind him. The doctors had put him in a coma in his last days and he died during the surgery leaving all the 3 kids and their mother in endless sorrow. They even couldn't say a final goodbye to David.
The family emphasized on knowing the truth so that could help stop the same thing happening to other people. But due to the hospital's carelessness in handling David's situation, they couldn't save him from his agony. A little prevention could have saved him from the tragedy.
The disease is very rare in humans but could be controlled if little measures are taken. Avoiding contaminated water and eating partially cooked meat can reduce the possibility of such incidents. The areas which are prominently affected by the disease Asia, Africa, Australia, South America, etc.
It's not recommended to keep reptiles around kids or those having a weekend immune system. Also there food and utensils shouldn't be in the same place as other people's eatables.
“Don’t kiss or snuggle with reptiles and amphibians because this can increase your risk of getting sick,” the CDC said.“Persons who think they might have become ill from contact with reptiles should talk to a health care provider.”
It had been years and the one thing David's sister Hannah had taken away from the incident was: “Look out for the signs and realize how bad salmonella can be, so we can prevent it from happening to someone else.” Allira and Hannah had done everything they could to give their kids a bright future which David would provide if he was still alive. Years after his death the family has remained each other's strength. Regardless of the years and lessons, their loss remained unhealed.