Aussie actress Anna Bamford, who plays Jennie Woods in Home and Away, has revealed her devastation over the death of Sydney man Sam Ballard – who passed last week from complications after eating a slug.
The actress shared a personal photograph of herself with Sam, writing: ‘So many of us lost Sam last week..He was truly larger than life.
‘He taught me how to love, how to be brave, how to fight and how to laugh way too hard. Still when I throw my head back and cack like you did so often I think of you, every time ❤️
‘I’ll always have the purest, most vivid, most golden memories that will last forever. Thank you for that Sammy B. Rest easy now. #BAL#sweetlove 💔❤️😘’
Sam’s tragedy began eght years ago when he was dared to eat a garden slug during a backyard get-together with mates.
‘We were sitting over here having a bit of a red wine appreciation night, trying to act as grown-ups and a slug came crawling across here,” friend Jimmy Galvin told The Project. “The conversation came up, you know. ‘Should I eat it?’ And off Sam went. Bang. That’s how it happened.’
Tragically, he contracted rat lungworm — a parasite carried by rats that affects the brain and spinal cord. It left him in a coma for 420 days, and when he woke up he was paralysed, and unable to eat or go to the bathroom on his own. He also needed a tracheotomy.
His mother says she doesn’t blame her son or his friends for the prank.
‘As far as I’m concerned he didn’t do anything wrong,’ she said. ‘It’s just a silly thing. Just because you were being mates and doing things together — it’s not your fault.’
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