A fit and healthy young Australian traveller has been put into a coma after a simple case of Bali Belly caused him to have dangerous seizures.
Julia Barresi, 19, had been feeling ill for several days while on holiday on the Indonesian island with friends before suffering a series of seizures on July 1.
She was rushed to intensive care and given anti-seizure medication before being flown to Australia and taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Her mother, Jen Barresi, said Julia had been placed in a coma and was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday.
“She’s a healthy, vibrant, active, beautiful human being. She’s my best friend in the whole world,” she told Daily Mail Australia.
“She has never had a seizure.He had health problems when she was younger, but she…He is perfectly healthy now.
The heartbroken mother said she had booked a flight to Bali to help Julia recover from her illness before receiving a heartbreaking phone call.
‘Julia and I were “I was constantly communicating and on Monday (July 1) she just didn’t seem right, so I booked a flight to go first thing Tuesday,” he said.
Julia Barresi, a 19-year-old Melbourne woman, had been feeling ill for several days while on holiday in Bali with friends before suffering a series of seizures on July 1.
Julia, pictured with her siblings, grandfather and mother Jen Baressi (front right), was rushed to intensive care at a hospital in Bali and given anti-seizure medication before being flown to Australia and taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital.
“And then her beautiful friends called me. They called me and said, ‘She’s having seizures,’ and I said, ‘Take her straight to the taxi, don’t wait for the ambulance, and take her straight to the hospital.'”
Ms. Barresi said she did not believe her daughter had done anything that could have triggered the seizures.
Low sodium levels caused by his illness are thought to have been a factor.
“She’s not a big drinker. I don’t even think she drank that much.” because I was sick and I wouldn’t have touched it,” she said.
‘She is very careful with her diet, with hygiene, with water, with everything. So there is nothing she did to cause what happened.
“I know her. We live together, so we know each other perfectly.”
Her mother, Jen Barresi, said Julia had been put into a coma and was scheduled to undergo an MRI. Julia is pictured with her father Francis
Ms. Barresi hopes her daughter will be well enough to celebrate her 20th birthday on July 29. “She is a healthy, vibrant, active, beautiful human being. She has never had a seizure,” Ms. Barresi said.
Julia’s friend Stephanie Michielin has started a GoFundMe to raise money for your medical bills that might not be covered by your insurance.
He said the flight back to Australia could cost the family up to $170,000.
Ms Barresi has since praised the team at Medical Rescue, based in Burleigh Heads, Queensland, for the way they handled Julia’s flight home.
“Medical Rescue coordinated and executed Julia’s evacuation with great professionalism and compassion. They kept us constantly informed throughout the trip and made the process much less stressful and traumatic,” she said.
Ms Barresi hopes her daughter will be well enough to celebrate her 20th birthday on July 29.
“She’s a very dear young lady,” she said. “I’m not just saying that because I’m her mother. If I wasn’t her mother, I’d like to be her friend.
“She’s been through hell and back, but she’ll bounce back. Anyone who knows Julia knows how special she is – she doesn’t have a mean bone in her body.”
Ms Barresi has since praised the team at Medical Rescue, based in Burleigh Heads, Queensland, for the way they handled Julia’s flight home (pictured being loaded onto the plane).
(tags to translate)dailymail