A healthy young Australian traveller has fallen into a coma after a simple case of Bali Belly caused dangerous seizures.
Julia Barresi, 19, had been feeling ill for several days while on holiday with friends on the Indonesian island before suffering a series of seizures on July 1.
She was rushed to intensive care and given anti-epilepsy medication before being flown to Australia and transferred to the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Her mother Jen Barresi said Julia was placed in a coma and was scheduled to undergo an MRI scan on Monday.
“She is a healthy, vibrant, smart, beautiful person. She is my best friend in the whole world,” she told Daily Mail Australia.
She’s never had a seizure. She had health problems when she was younger, but sheis now completely healthy.’
The mother told a heartfelt story of how she had booked a flight to Bali to help Julia recover from her illness before receiving a terrible phone call.
Julia and I were “She was constantly communicating and on Monday (July 1) she just didn’t seem nice so I booked a flight to come over early Tuesday morning,” she said.
Julia Barresi, 19, from Melbourne, 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 brothers, grandfather and her mother Jen Baressi (front right), was rushed to the intensive care unit of a hospital in Bali and given anti-epilepsy medication before being flown home to Australia and transferred to the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
‘And then her beautiful friends called me. They called me and said, “She’s having seizures,” and I just said, “Get her in a taxi right away, don’t wait for an ambulance, take her straight to the hospital.”
Mrs Barresi said she did not believe her daughter had done anything to trigger the attacks.
It is suspected that low sodium levels, caused by the illness she was suffering from, played a role.
‘She’s not a big drinker. I don’t even think she would have had much to drink. “Because she was sick, she wouldn’t have touched it,” she said.
“She’s very careful with her food, with hygiene, with the water, everything. So there’s nothing she did to cause what happened.
‘I know her. We live together so we know each other inside and out.’
Her mother Jen Barresi said Julia was put in a coma and had 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, alert, beautiful person. She has never had a seizure,” Ms. Barresi said.
Julia’s friend Stephanie Michielin is a GoFundMe to raise money for her medical bills, which may not be covered by her insurance.
She 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 in Queensland, for the way they handled Julia’s flight home.
“Medical Rescue coordinated and executed Julia’s evacuation with such professionalism and compassion. We were kept informed throughout the journey and they made the process much less stressful and traumatic,” she said.
Mrs Barresi hopes her daughter will be well enough to celebrate her 20th birthday on July 29.
“She’s a very beloved young lady,” she said. “I’m not just saying this because I’m her mother. If I wasn’t her mother, I’d want to be her friend.
“She’s been through hell and back, but she’s going to come out on top. 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 in Queensland, for the way they handled Julia’s flight home (she is pictured being loaded onto the plane).