Michael Dumas, 17, traveled from Memphis, Tennessee, to Pompano Beach, Florida, on a mission trip with his church. A break between activities turned into an innocent game: his friends buried him in the sand. Days later, his right leg began to show bumps, and then open wounds covered his entire foot.
In the emergency room, doctors confirmed what his mother, Kelli, had never imagined: hookworms, parasites that lodge under the skin after coming into contact with contaminated sand or soil. One of the worms measured nearly eight centimeters. During a liquid nitrogen treatment to remove them, Michael felt them moving inside his body.
His family has already spent more than 1.300 dollars on antibiotics, antiparasitic medications, and steroids. He cannot wear shoes and must soak his foot in chlorinated water every day. Four more friends from the trip have similar symptoms. Kelli called the Pompano Beach Health Department to warn them about what happened, and the response left her stunned: they told her that everyone knows they have to wear shoes at the beach because of parasites. She is not so sure that is the case.
