Introducing: Mr. Ballen Medical Mysteries

Follow MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge the first 8 episodes, early and ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today. The human body is a miracle. But when it’s not working, it can be the stuff of nightmares. In this new series from master storyteller MrBallen, we’re sharing medical horror stories and diagnostic mysteries that are surgically calibrated to make your blood run cold. From bizarre, unheard-of diseases and miraculous recoveries to strange medical mishaps and unexplainable deaths — you’ll never hear the phrase “heart-stopping” in the same way again. MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between MrBallen and Wondery, the award-winning company behind Dr. Death. Listen Now: https://Wondery.fm/MBMM_TRC

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hay True Advocates. I'm here totell you all about an all new suspense
driven podcast, Mister Balin's Medical Mysteries. It's hosted by mister Balin, one
of the Internet's most popular storytellers.Why medical mysteries, Well, we've all
been there, turning to the Internetto self diagnose inexplicable pains, debilitating body
aches, sudden fevers, and strangerashes. Though our minds spiral to worst

(00:25):
case scenarios, it's usually nothing,but for an unlucky few, these symptoms
can start the clock ticking on aterrifying medical mystery. Each week on mister
Balin's Medical Mysteries, you can expectbizarre, unheard of diseases, miraculous recoveries,
strange medical mishaps, and everything inbetween, like the unexplainable death of

(00:46):
a retired firefighter whose body was reducedto ashes even though nothing around him burned.
Or the time when an entire townbecame ill with nausea and chills.
The local doctor initially chalked it upto being food poisoning until people started jumping
from buildings and seeing tigers on theirceilings. Each terrifying true story will be

(01:07):
sure to keep you up at night. I'm about to play a clip from
mister Balin's Medical Mysteries while you're listening. Follow mister Balin's Medical Mysteries on Amazon
Music or wherever you get your podcasts. Wonder. On a humid summer morning
in June nineteen ninety nine, thirtysix year old Sanju Bagat was hard at

(01:32):
work on a farm outside of Nagpur, a city in central India. The
sun had just risen and the airwas already so hot that he found it
hard to breathe. Sanju and agroup of farm hands were hard at work
tending to the soybean crops. Hemade his way through the field, stopping
to catch his breath every few steps. Sanju moved a lot slower than his
coworkers because of his massive belly.For the past fifteen years, Sanju had

(01:57):
struggled beneath the weight of his evergrowing stomach. At first, when he
was in his early twenties, hisfamily had thought he was just filling out
a little, like all young mendo when they become adults. But Sanju's
stomach didn't stop growing. It keptgetting bigger and bigger, until it had
swelled to the size of a massivewatermelon, but his arms and legs stayed

(02:19):
stick thin. He never understood whyhis belly kept growing since he didn't eat
much. By the time Sanju reachedhis early thirties, he was in constant
pain, and his family desperately wantedhim to see a doctor, but he
couldn't afford to take time off ofwork, although deep down he had to
admit he was a little scared ofwhat the doctor might find. The sun

(02:42):
beat down on Sonju's head and hecould feel his chest tighten. He tried
to keep working, but today itwas harder to breathe than usual. No
matter how deeply he inhaled, hecouldn't quite catch his breath. Finally,
he dropped his shovel in double gaspingfor air. Sanju gathered what little strength
he had left and stood up straight. He could feel other farm workers eyes

(03:08):
on him as he gathered his toolsand headed home. It was the longest
walk of Sanju's life. He felthumiliated and useless, but he was also
afraid. He could barely take abreath. By the time he got to
the small home he shared with hisfamily, he nearly fell through the front
door. The last thing he rememberedwas falling hard on the tile floor.

(03:36):
Early the next morning, doctor AjeMehta had just started his shift in the
oncology ward at Tata Memorial Hospital.He was alerted that a new patient named
Sanju Bargat had been brought in allthe way from Nagpur and that he needed
to be seen right away. DoctorMehta hurried over to Sanju's room. If
someone was rushed in an ambulance fromso far away, it had to be

(04:00):
a serious emergency. As soon asdoctor Meta examined Sanju's giant, swollen belly,
he instructed the nurse to prepare theoperating room for surgery. Doctor Meta
was a specialist in tumor removal andhe was certain that Sanju had a massive
tumor in his stomach, possibly thebiggest one he'd ever seen. The tumor
was likely pressing against Sanju's diaphragm,which was why he couldn't breathe, and

(04:25):
given how big it was and Sanju'sweakened condition, the tumor had to be
removed immediately. While another nurse preppedSanju for the operation, doctor Meta gathered
his surgical team and headed to theoperating room. As they sterilized their hands
and put on clean scrubs, DoctorMeta warned them that the tumor's sheer size

(04:47):
would make this a very challenging operation. There was a risk of damaging the
soft tissue in Sanju's stomach, hisnerve endings, or blood vessels. In
the worst case, the surgery couldcause severe enturn, bleeding, or even
death. A few minutes later,Sanju was wheeled into the operating room on

(05:09):
a gurney. Once he was underanesthesia, doctor Meida called for a scalpel.
He placed one hand on Sanju's stomachfor leverage, then he cut into
Sanju's belly. After the blade brokethrough Sanju's skin and opened up his chest
area, doctor Meida expected to seeblood in a bright red mass of cancerous

(05:30):
cells. Instead, gallons of thick, yellowish fluid gushed from Sanju's stomach,
spilling onto the floor. The entiresurgical team gasped. Doctor Meida jumped out
of the way, trying to avoidthe surge of bile. It had a
foul odor that made everyone in theroom start to gag. Nurses ran toward
him with towels, trying to sopup the putrid smelling liquid. While they

(05:56):
cleaned up the mess, Doctor Medaremained calm and carefully inserted his hand into
Sanju's stomach to locate the tumor.At first, all he felt was thick,
jelly like fluids sliding between his fingers. Then he grazed something unusual.
His eyes went wide as he dovea little deeper, his palm wrapped around

(06:17):
something soft but with a brittle core. He realized this was not a tumor.
Whatever was in Sanju's stomach had bones, a lot of them. Doctor
madis jaw dropped as his hand exploredthe object floating in Sanju's stomach. He

(06:39):
grabbed onto one of the tiny bonesand began to slowly pull it up and
out of Sonju's stomach. As helifted the bizarre object into the air,
he could hear more gasps from everyonein the room. Hey, Prime members,

(06:59):
you can bene the first eight episodesof Mister Balin's Medical Mysteries right now
and ad free on Amazon Music.Download the Amazon Music app today,