Slush Pile: Eats an Amanita Phalloides...

2007 Slush Pile

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Eats an Amanita Phalloides...

2007 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2007/11/07/espana/1194426397.html

Full title: Eats an Amanita Phalloides (Death Cap Mushroom)claiming it's harmless and spends 2 days in the Intensive Care Unit

It's actually a near miss, but I have translated the article for your amusement...

From the EFE NEws Agency (AGENCIA EFE)

FUENTES DE LEÓN (BADAJOZ).- A local man from Fuentes de León (Badajoz Province in Spain), José Manuel Hidalgo Recio, 45 years old, has endangered his life by voluntarily eating an 'amanita phalloides' mushroom (Death Cap Mushroom), and has had to spend two days hospitalised in the Intensive Care Unit of the province's Infanta Cristina Hospital.

The unfortunate accident took place last sunday, during a series of Mycological Conferences and Seminars celebrated in his local village, when after several days of collecting and then exhibiting mushroom, Mr. Hidalgo got into an argument with some of his neighbours regarding the toxic/deadly properties of an "amanita phallides" mushroom that was on display with a warning sign informing all assistants that just 20 grammes of the mushroom could have deadly effects on a human being.

José María Álvarez, witness and member of the local Environmental Organization "La Sotarraña" which had organised the event, explained that during the argument, "(Mr. Hidalgo) suddenly grabbed the mushroom and in order to prove that it was not poisonous took a bite out of the mushroom and started chewing it".

Witnesses begged him to spit out the mushroom and not to swallow it, but Mr. Hidalgo, instead of heeding their calls, took a second bite, chewing and swallowing what little remained of the mushroom. The witnesses, considerably alarmed, decided to call the Civil Guard (militarised police force) and an ambulance.

Mr. Hidalgo, who was clearly under the influence of alcohol, maintained that the mushroom was not poisonous and that everybody would see in the following hours how right he was...

Although he refused to get into the ambulance once it arrived, a friend finally conviced him and he was transferred to the local hospital. Once there, he started to show the typical signs of Death Cap Mushroom poisoning - "bloating, turning yellow and vomiting non-stop" according to Mr. Álvarez, who added that he was then immediately transferred to the main hospital in the province (Infanta Cristina Hospital) where he was immediately placed in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

After 2 days in the ICU, he was transferred to a normal observation area waiting fot the results of more detailed analyses on (among other organs) his liver since there could be some permanent damage.

After visiting the patient, José Pedro Rubio (the mayor of Fuentes de León) explained that José Manuel was recovering, although he claimed that when he swallowed the mushroom he was totally convinced that it was not toxic. He was however aware that his liver showed extremely hgh levels of transaminase, an enzyme that is produced in large quantities when the liver has to deal with toxic substances.

Submitted on 11/19/2007

Submitted by: Alfonso Anderiz
Reference: El Mundo Newspaper (Spain) 7th Nov 2007

>> Moderator Scores <<

Bruce said:
Definitely Toss: Repeat
Thanks, Alfonso, we've already received this story a number of times.

Chip said:
Definitely Toss: Repeat
Thanks for the submission but we have this story already.

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2007 Slush Pile

Eats an Amanita Phalloides...

2007 Reader Submission Pending Acceptance

2007 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance