Maria Palen from California is battling paralysis, but doctors are not 100 percent sure why. The 31-year-old started feeling pain and inflammation in 2018 but thought diet and working out would fix it.

Imagine returning from a dream vacation, only to find yourself battling a mysterious illness that leaves doctors baffled. For one 30-year-old woman from New England, this nightmare became a reality when a parasite she picked up during her travels infected her brain,

Severe burning sensations and confusion were later attributed to rat lungworm, which is often transmitted through snails and slugs, a case study revealed.

After a three-week-long vacation through Thailand, Japan and Hawaii, a 30-year-old woman learned she brought home an unwelcome souvenir, doctors said. When the woman first returned home to the coast of New England,