Don’t you hate it whenever you’re out and about surrounded by nature, and a random insect flies straight into your mouth? Well, imagine that, but an entire bat. A 33-year-old Massachusetts woman was with her dad in Arizona, enjoying a beautiful view of the night sky, when a wild bat decided that it should land directly on her face. Like anyone would in her situation, she cried in terror, but while her mouth was open, part of the bat’s body went into her mouth. After an awkward and likely very traumatizing struggle, the bat eventually flew off, leaving the poor woman in shock.
“I know what bats taste like now. It’s an earthy, sweet kind of flavor,” the woman jokingly told KFF Health News. However, the medical bills that piled up from this batty incident were anything but funny for her. The costs for the rabies and immunoglobulin shots she received after the incident ended up being almost $21,000. One of the main reasons the medical treatment was so high was that she was without insurance at the time. The unfortunate bat taster had lost her job last year and decided not to pay for the post-layoff insurance until she found a new one.
Thankfully, the Massachusetts resident has since found new employment, but the debt of the outrageous medical expenses she incurred from almost swallowing a bat still plagues her bank balance. While a wild animal forcing itself into your mouth is pretty crazy, thousands of online users reacting to the story focused more on the unbelievably crazy medical bills of nearly $21,000. One Redditor came up with a clever headline that they think accurately reflects what happened: “A predatory health care system forces a woman into debt after a random accident with wildlife.”
Another chimed in, saying how universal health care needs to become a thing in the US. “It isn’t socialism. It isn’t wasteful,” they argue, further explaining how the federal budget will be fine and major research and breakthroughs will occur as a result. And most importantly, “it will keep big pharma et al in serious check.” Of course, the replies from the comment turned into politically centric chaos, but it’s clear many people don’t want to be paying exorbitant amounts of money for insurance.
That all being said, the Massachusetts woman seemingly had a better ending than one alleged bat-eating incident in Wuhan. One thing for sure, though, as one commenter put it: this story is “bat-sh*t crazy.”
