A Badajoz man wanted to show his friends a mushroom was not poisonous, and ended up in intensive care for two days
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By h.b. - Nov 7, 2007 - 3:14 PM
José Manuel Hidalgo refused to be taken to hospital until he started to turn yellow

A 45 year old man from Fuentes de León in Badajoz, José Manuel Hidalgo, ate some mushrooms to show they were not poisonous, and ended up in intensive care.

It happened last Sunday during an open day being held in the village, which had been proceeded by a day of mushroom collecting and display.

The victim got into an argument with other locals as to how lethal wild mushrooms could be, with a poster warning that as little as 20 grams could be fatal. José Manuel did not believe it, and suddenly to prove his point, started to eat the ‘amanita phalloides’ mushroom. On the second bite he showed symptoms of being drunk, and continued to claim the mushroom was not fatal.

An ambulance was called but it took considerable argument before the patient finally agreed to be taken to hospital in Zafra, Badajoz. By this time he had turned yellow and started to vomit.

He spent two days in the intensive care unit, and finally was allowed out onto the ward on Tuesday afternoon amid concerns that his liver may have suffered permanent damage.

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