Man survives emergency surgery to remove tapeworm larva from his brain

A California man says he went to an emergency room with a terrible headache and nausea, slipped into a coma, and was told a tapeworm larva had been living in his brain when he woke up.

Luis Ortiz, a 26-year-old university student, said that doctors told him he needed immediate surgery to remove it.

The surgery and the aftermath have greatly impacted his life, Ortiz said. He had to drop out of school and move back home. He can not drive or work, and has to remind himself to do his memory exercises and other daily tasks.