Young influencer suffers facial paralysis after 23 days in intensive care for eating sushi, doctors explain risks

A sushi the meal triggered a medical crisis who left the Ecuadorian influencer Yuli Vargas fighting for his life and suffering from paralysis affecting parts of his face and body.

In August 2025, Yuli’s condition seriously deteriorated, leaving her hospitalized for 23 days after eating sushi at a restaurant.

Since surviving the ordeal, the influencer has shared her harrowing experience in detail and warned viewers not to make the same mistake she did.

Amid growing concern over his ordeal, a medical expert explains how foodborne infections can be life-threatening, why raw seafood carries risks, and what symptoms should prompt urgent medical attention.

Ecuadorian content creator Yuli Vargas survived a horrific medical ordeal after eating sushi last year

Vargas, who shares content about chronic illness and health awareness, described the experience as a turning point in his life.

“It all started when I ate sushi…which triggered a series of complications and diagnoses,” she said. Need to know in an October 2025 interview about his hospitalization.

In August 2025, she contracted serious Salmonella and typhoid fever infections after eating contaminated sushi.

What started as a dietary p**sy quickly deteriorated his health.

Yuli said complications included pangastritis, moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, pancreatitis and gallbladder inflammation.

She also had an endoscopy and colonoscopy during the same week.

“I underwent countless tests, procedures and ultimately, an extremely risky surgery where I had to face the reality that the chances of making it out of the operating room alive were slim,” Yuli said.

“I endured nights of unrelenting pain where no medication worked; even heavy sedation couldn’t calm me down. »

The influencer spent 23 days in the hospital and reportedly went 16 days without eating.

She was kept in intensive care for monitoring during part of her hospitalization.

“In those moments, between pain and despair, I was unable to sleep or drink water, unable to breathe properly because of the pain, and I went without food for 16 days because I was given assisted feeding,” Vargas explained.

She said doctors initially placed the supply line in her arm, but it caused her considerable pain.

They then inserted a central line into his jugular vein to continue providing him with nutrition, “which ended up causing an infection several days later, and they had to remove it urgently.”

Yuli said her elevated pancreatic enzymes made gallbladder surgery particularly risky.

Hours after the procedure, she suffered an ischemic stroke, according to her account.

The stroke left her with paralysis affecting the right side of her body and her face, adding another frightening complication to an already difficult hospitalization.

“The doctors didn’t know what to do,” Vargas said. “After multiple tests and examinations, they arrived at the following diagnoses: pangastritis, moderate to severe ulcerative colitis and systemic lupus erythematosus affecting the nervous system and pancreas.”

Yuli’s high-risk gallbladder surgery was followed by stroke, facial paralysis and reduced mobility

Systemic lupus erythematosus, commonly known as lupus, is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues.

It can affect different organs, and its symptoms and severity vary greatly from patient to patient.

Dr. Alexander Acosta, an infectious disease expert, said Bored panda that Salmonella can be transmitted through raw seafood, but linking an infection to a particular meal requires evidence.

“Salmonella can come from raw seafood. That said, doctors need to have evidence linking Salmonella to a particular food, and this is often not known,” he explained.

Acosta pointed to a 2022 salmonella outbreak that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been investigating.

Of the 18 people surveyed, 13 said they had eaten raw fish, sushi or poke.

Investigators also discovered the outbreak strain of Salmonella at a fresh fish supplier.

Typhoid fever presents a related but distinct food safety concern.

Infectious disease expert explains how salmonella and typhoid can be spread through contaminated food

It is caused by Salmonella Typhi, which is spread through food or water contaminated with infected human feces.

“Typhoid is usually transmitted through food or water contaminated with human feces,” Dr. Acosta said. “This could include food handled by someone with typhoid and/or seafood (e.g. oysters) living in typhoid-contaminated waters.”

He explained that identifying the source of an infection may involve looking at the timing of symptoms, stool culture results, recently eaten foods and whether others have become ill after eating the same food.

Dr. Acosta said serious infections can trigger complications beyond the digestive system, especially when a patient becomes severely dehydrated or bacteria enters the bloodstream.

“Signs that doctors worry about and look for the cause of include severe dehydration, worsening inflammation, and bacteria leaving the gut and entering the bloodstream,” he explained.

He also cautioned against assuming that an infection explains all subsequent complications in a particular patient.

“Yes, serious infections can plausibly contribute to all three, because they cause inflammation and make other complications more likely,” Dr. Acosta said, referring to the pancreatitis, colitis and gallbladder problems Vargas experienced.

Yuli recalls: “The pain and fear I felt throughout my hospitalization is something I don’t know how to explain…”

But he added: “I am unable to comment on Ms. Vargas’s case because I do not have all the facts about her illness. »

He noted that pancreatitis is a rare complication of typhoid colitis.

He also explained that Salmonella Typhi can live in the gallbladder and that gallstones can help the bacteria persist there.

Additionally, foodborne illnesses can range from mild, short-lived symptoms to infections requiring urgent medical attention.

Dr Acosta warned: “It is a widely held belief that food p**sound is not a big problem, but in fact some people need to see a doctor when they develop diarrhea or vomiting. »

“Severe dehydration can lead to kidney damage and can also cause your blood pressure to drop, leading to shock,” the expert explained.

He added that confusion or inability to keep fluids down for hours should prompt a same-day medical evaluation, possibly in an emergency department.

Older adults, young children, pregnant people, and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of serious foodborne illness and may need medical attention sooner.

Serious infections can affect multiple organs, and doctors warn against rejecting food consumption

Acosta also questioned the assumption that fresh-looking seafood is necessarily safe.

“You can eat in the cleanest, shiniest restaurant and if the fish is contaminated, nothing they do will eliminate the bacteria.”

Freezing fish can eliminate parasites, he explained, but it does not reliably eliminate salmonella.

Therefore, people at higher risk of serious foodborne illness should avoid raw fish and seafood.

For Vargas, leaving the hospital was just the beginning of another difficult phase: recovering from his stroke, regaining his strength and learning to manage a chronic illness.

“I’m learning more about lupus and experiencing it to the fullest, because when it hurts, it really hurts,” Vargas said. “I am treated with several medications, some of which block the sensation of pain in the brain.”

Notably, although her account highlights how quickly a serious illness can change a person’s life, it does not establish the exact cause of each complication she experienced.

“Salmonella can also be found in eggs and other foods. Unfortunately, what happened to him was a tragic accident,” one user wrote.