MEDICAL BAG
Mushroom malady, Indian illness, lurcher’s limp, and the man with a penis on his arm
INTRAVENOUS SHROOMS
A man who brewed a magic mushroom tea and injected it into his veins was rushed to hospital several days later where he spent over three weeks, including eight days in an intensive care unit being treated for multisystem organ failure. After injecting himself, the man experienced lethargy and nausea with his skin turning yellow. He soon developed diarrhoea and began to vomit blood. His family took him to the hospital’s emergency room, where doctors observed that he seemed very confused and was unable to participate in a meaningful interview.
He was transferred to the ICU after several organs, including his liver and kidneys, began to fail. His blood tested positive for Brevibacillus bacterial infection and Psilocybe cubensis fungal infection: the magic mushrooms were growing in his bloodstream. In addition to antibiotic and antifungal drug treatment, the man had to be placed on a ventilator after suffering acute respiratory failure. After 22 days he was discharged, but is still being treated with a longterm regimen of antibiotics and antifungals.
The 30-year-old had apparently injected the shrooms into his bloodstream hoping to find relief from bipolar disorder and opioid dependence. Family members noted that he had recently stopped taking his bipolar medication and was “cycling between depressive and manic states”. He had read reports online about the potentially beneficial effects of LSD and psilocybin mushrooms for longterm depression, anxiety and substance abuse. livescience.com, 14 Jan 2021.
HE CAN REBUILD YOU
Professor David Ralph of University College London Hospital, the so-called ‘penis master’, came to the rescue of Malcolm MacDonald, 45, who suffered a severe blood infection that turned his fingers, toes and penis black, the latter eventually falling off. However, Prof Ralph was able to construct a new penis on Mr MacDonald’s arm, with an extra 2 inches (5cm) thrown in.
“I had struggled for years with an infection in my perineum but I had no idea what could happen,” said the mechanic from Thetford, Norfolk. “When I saw my penis go black I was beside myself. It was like a horror film. I was in a complete panic. I knew deep down I was going to lose it.”
Mr MacDonald was “completely gutted” when his penis “just dropped off onto the floor” in 2014, although fortunately his testicles remained intact. “Because I had been through the devastation of knowing I was going to lose it, I just picked it up and put it in the bin. I went to the hospital and they said the best they could do for me was to roll the remaining stump up like a little sausage roll. It was heartbreaking.”
Unsurprisingly, he became a recluse and began drinking heavily. “For two years after losing my penis, I felt a shadow of a man. My life really fell apart because I had no self-confidence. I drank too much. I didn’t see family and friends – I just didn’t want to have to face up to it.”
But his fortunes were turned around when his local doctor told him about Prof Ralph, the phallus expert who famously created a ‘bionic penis’ for a patient who was born without one. Prof Ralph’s proposal was to perform an arm-graft procedure, which, although it could take up to two years, would be funded by the NHS because it would eventually allow Mr MacDonald to urinate properly as well as have sexual intercourse.
“It was all my Christmases at once. I was so emotional because it was a chance at a new start,” he said. “I wasn’t worried about the procedure because I had seen what Prof Ralph and his team could do... they were miracle workers.”
“Not having a penis felt awful,” said Mr MacDonald.
It’s most men’s worst fear. For me I was never worried about sex, because I already had two children. It was always more about my self-confidence and simple things like using the loo.”
He also decided to request an extra two inches (5cm): “They were happy to listen to what I wanted it to be like, which was amazing. Not many can say they have a designer penis.”
In 2016, Prof Ralph’s team of surgeons formed a new penis, with its own blood vessels and nerves, using a skin flap on the left arm of right-handed Mr MacDonald. They created a urethra and installed two tubes inflated with a hand pump, allowing him to have an erection. This shaft was then removed from his forearm, leaving the base, and allowing it to form naturally as skin and tissue. He is now waiting for the final stage of the procedure when it will be transferred to its proper location.
“When I saw it on my arm for the first time, I was so, so proud. After everything I had been through, it didn’t feel weird at all, it was just a part of me,” said the happy mechanic. “I just couldn’t leave it alone to begin with. I thought it was the best thing ever.” Indeed, he took to it so much, that he gave it a nickname: ‘Jimmy’. “That they can make me a new penis at all is incredible, but that they can build it on my arm is mind-blowing,” he added. “It looks like something out of a weird sci-fi comic.” Despite wearing long-sleeve shirts to hide his bulge, people sometimes spot the misplaced member. “Of course, people make jokes. But I get it. It’s not every day you see a man with a penis on his arm.”
Unfortunately, the new penis has still not been attached, four years after the procedure, due to a series of missed appointments, scheduling problems, staff shortages, and the coronavirus pandemic. But despite all the cancellations, Mr MacDonald remains optimistic that it will eventually be transplanted. “I am determined this penis will be ultimately used for what it was built for,” he said. nypost.com, 31 July 2020.
INDIAN MYSTERY ILLNESS
Hundreds have been admitted to hospital in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh after an unidentified illness caused a wide range of symptoms including headaches, nausea, seizures, unconsciousness and other neurological symptoms. At the time of writing there have been over 600 cases and at least seven deaths. The first case was seen on 5 December 2020, with steadily increasing numbers of people presenting with symptoms over the next few days until 12 December, after which time no new cases were reported. Coronavirus had been ruled out as the cause of the illness, despite Andhra Pradesh being one of India’s worst-affected states.
“The people who fell sick, especially the children, suddenly started vomiting after complaining of burning eyes. Some of them fainted or suffered bouts of seizures,” said a medical officer at Eluru Government Hospital. The state’s health minister, Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas, said patients’ blood samples had not revealed any evidence of a viral infection. “We ruled out water contamination or air pollution as the cause after officials visited the areas where people fell sick,” he said. “It is some mystery illness and only lab analysis will reveal what it is.”
However, the opposition Telugu Desam Party has called for an enquiry, insisting contamination to be the cause. A preliminary investigation conducted by an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) team found lead and nickel particulate matter in patients’ blood samples, as well as high heavy metal content in milk. The Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) also ran tests on the local water supply and found traces of mercury higher than permitted levels.
On 16 December, the Andhra Pradesh government concluded that pesticide residue in the water was the “main reason” for the illness, based on the AIIMS and NEERI findings. The 1984 Bhopal disaster in Madhya Pradesh, when toxic gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide plant, caused thousands of deaths. BBC News, 7 Dec; CNN, Dec 9; Hindustan Times, 16 Dec 2020.
MYSTERY OF THE LIMPING LURCHER
A London man paid a vet around £300 to have his dog, Billy, examined, as the lurcher was walking with a limp. X-rays of Billy’s front leg were taken, but the vet was unable to find any injury. Owner Russell Jones said he first noticed the dog had been walking with a front paw raised after he, Russell, had broken his ankle. The vet concluded that Billy was imitating Russell, copying the way he had been walking with a limp since his injury. [UPI] 19 Jan 2021.