14 DAY TRIAL // While on his fishing trip, John Macdonald dropped his beer can into the river, and without thinking, he picked it up and drank from it. After the incident, the 60-year-old Australian started experiencing weird symptoms and severe stomach swelling.
The man believes he picked up a strange bug from Brisbane River, Queensland, that caused his stomach to balloon and develop a massive growth just a few hours after drinking from the can dropped into the water.
The violent pain took him directly to the hospital where he endured several treatments and operations in order to get rid of the horrible growth. Neither surgery nor antibiotics helped the 60-year-old grandfather to get rid of the mass.
The third surgery at the Royal Brisbane Hospital was believed to be a success, but John woke up with an even larger hernia-like growth on his stomach, according to Daily Mail.
The bizarre mass keeps returning no matter what treatment or medication the doctors prescribe. Physicians told Macdonald that their hands are tight for at least twelve months and they still can't figure out the weird condition.
In an attempt to find a cure, the 60-year-old decided to go public with his mystery illness, “I want to tell my story to the world in the hope that someone somewhere might answer my prayers and finally get me well – I'm a good bloke and I want to be around for my kids and my grandchild so if there's a bloody good doc out there that can help, then give me a holler,” John Macdonald told Daily Mail.
Brisbane River's bacterial pollution is known to be almost 50 times higher than normal levels, one of the main contaminations of the water includes enterococci bacteria, known to cause stomach upsets and skin infections.
Yet, this particular bacterium isn't the only one found there, and it is highly possible that Mr. Macdonald may be suffering from a combination of factors that led to his weird stomach problems.