A mother calls out to raise awareness on an amoeba that has killed her newlywed daughter last fall. She createdFacebook page entitled, "Team Koral Reef Amoeba Awareness" to make others aware of the brain-eating amoeba called Balamuthia.
Sybil Meister lost her daughter, Koral Reef Meister-Pier to amoebic meningoencephalitis, she told ABC News on Monday. This is a very rare brain infection caused by a parasite.
However, doctors believe that even though her intentions are good, the spark of public paranoia might surface considering that a brain infection related to amoeba is very rare. However, Sybil is determined to give her daughter's death a purpose, and that is to make others aware of this condition.
"My daughter was someone who had a contagious laugh, who was so generous and always cooked for everyone. And now she's gone. It's been less than six months since my daughter died, and her family, friends and I want to raise awareness about these deadly amoebas," she said.
Koral Reef Meister Pier was just 20 years old when she started developing symptoms in 2013. Described as bubbly and energetic, she started to experience weird symptoms.
"She started complaining about headaches, stiff neck nausea, blurry vision, vomiting, and sensitivity to heat and light. Koral also started having personality changes and mood swings," Sybil explained
She added, "She became lethargic, emotional and unwilling to work."
Koral would always experience twitching in the left side of her body and extreme sensitivity to light. They initially went to the Emergency Room because of her worsening symptoms. She was sent home. The initial test showed that she might be having birth control withdrawal symptoms because she got out from her pills.
Her mother said that Koral would always opt out of her appointments with the doctor because she doesn't want anyone to worry about her.
However, in September 2014, she was rushed to the hospital because her eyesight worsened. The simple sensitivity to light became intermittent blindness and her twitching got worse. When her brain scans were examined, a mass and inflammation in her brain were detected.
Apparently, she was infected with Balamuthia amoeba. Dr. Navaz Karanjia, who directs neurocritical care and the neuro-intensive-care-unit at University of California San Diego's Health System and the one who treated Koral told ABC News that based on her symptoms, she might have contracted the parasite in 2013.
Sybil remembered that they had a vacation at Lake Havasu in Arizona and believes Koral got the disease there. In another similar case in 2007, as reported by CBS News, Lake Havasu was believed to be the source of a rare brain-eating infection caused by Naegleria fowleri, which killed a 14-year-old boy.
However, Dr. Karanjia believes otherwise.
"I think it's dangerous to put a name and place to blame for an infection when you aren't sure. It's easy to sensationalize the story, but this particular amoeba has almost always been contracted through inhalation of dust. It's possible she got it through water, but it's highly unlikely."
He added that early detection of the infection is the best way to treat it. "If you're experiencing constant headaches, lethargy, nausea and these early general signs, it's best to go to your doctor right away, so you can figure out what the cause of the problem is."