A newlywed bride was suffering from some severe headaches. She was then rushed to the E.R. where they found she had a brain-eating bug. Koral Reef Meister-Pier was your regular 20-year-old. She just recently married her high school sweetheart and was about to start the greatest year of her life.
She had just had her wedding in Temecula California, marrying Corey Piers and they couldn’t have been more excited to start their life-long journey together. But the journey and a life spent together had the potential to be cut short.
The newlywed started suffering from severe headaches, along with other odd symptoms. These symptoms would eventually lead to the young woman’s death, only two months after her wedding. It’s hard to believe that severe headaches couldn’t simply be cured by taking some Advil or Tylenol.
According to reports, the newlywed was known to be a bubbly, athletic, energetic and healthy girl. She had hopes of attending a culinary arts school. But sadly, those hopes and dreams disappeared pretty quickly.
It was reported that in the fall of 2013, the newlywed was complaining of severe headaches as well as neck pain, fatigue, nausea, blurred vision, mood swings and sensitivity to heat and light.
Meister-Pier, who was once a very energetic and bubbly individual suddenly turned into someone who was extremely fatigued as well as emotional. It was like night and day.
Her mother, Sybil Meister told local news, “Her headaches and sensitivity to light were so bad that her husband had to constantly keep her in a dark room…she started having twitching on the left side of her body”.
Facebook @TeamKoralReefAmoeba
The newlywed, who was suffering from severe headaches, was scared to go to the doctor at first. But finally, in June 2014, she was taken to the ER. At first, doctors thought the symptoms she was experiencing were just a withdrawal from birth control. But even after being discharged from the hospital, Koral was still suffering from her symptoms.
But sadly, on September 29th, the newlywed had to go back to the ER and according to her mother, she never came out. The newlywed who suffered severe headaches had a huge mass in her brain, dead tissue and inflammation, according to her doctors. Koral had contracted a brain-killing amoeba, known as Balamuthia. It typically found in dust, soil, and water.
The newlywed’s family believe that Koral could have contracted the amoeba while on a boating trip to Lake Havasu in 2013. Though I wouldn’t worry about contracting it. This brain infection is super rare and its source is not yet known.
In fact, this disease is so rare that doctors say there is no reason for the public to worry. According to Dr. Sharon Reed who worked on the case, “It’s so rare, it’s nothing we can protect against or be hugely concerned about in our daily lives”. But the newlywed’s family is on a mission to make this case known so that others will be aware of it. They created a Facebook page, called “Team Koral Reef Amoeba Awareness”.
