A woman lived many people's worst nightmares when she found out that eight tapeworms had been living inside her brain.
Yadira Rostro from Garland, Texas had been complaining about severe headaches and loss a vision for months before she finally decided it was time to see a doctor.
"Sometimes my sight was impaired... I could not see properly," she told NBC Charlotte.
Upon being examined, the 31-year-old soon learned that sacs of larvae from eight tapeworm eggs had been growing inside her brain. Doctors believe she was likely infected when she ingested food contaminated by fecal matter containing a tapeworm or an egg while on vacation in Mexico two years ago - a common way for tapeworms to transfer between hosts, according to IFLScience.
Typically, when people are infected, the parasite passes through the system. However, in this case the parasite worked it's way through it's new host's bloodstream and into her into brain, causing a collection of fluid to form which prompted the headaches.
The parasite was removed during surgery at the Methodist Dallas Medical Center earlier this month, reported the Independent. Neurosurgeon Dr Richard Meyrat, who worked on the operation, described the invaders: "They looked a little bit like eggs, and they had a clear sac. And inside it, a small tapeworm.
Rostro is expected to make a full recovery after her nine-month ordeal, and is "happy to be alive".
"I'm very grateful to God that I'm in his hands," she said.
