POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – The mother of a teen visiting South Florida on a religious mission claims he contracted hookworms while walking on the beach.
In a post on Facebook, Kelli Mulhollen Dumas says her son Michael was in Miami with a larger group in June. During a group visit to Pompano Beach, Michael was "buried in the sand for fun and it has become our nightmare."
Dumas says Michael and three others contracted hookworms, with Michael being the worst case.
Since returning home, Michael has been in pain and visited a pediatrician four times, as well as a dermatologist. He has been prescribed Clindamyacin, Ivermectin, a steroid dose pack and Albenza.
Dumas says she posted to social media to warn others about allowing children to be buried in the sand.
In the post, Dumas claims she contacted a health department in Pompano Beach and was told, "Everyone knows to wear shoes on the beach because you can get parasites."
However, Pompano Beach spokeswoman Sandra King told the SunSentinel, "We haven't heard from anyone, not any resident, not the health department."