MEXICO – Update (Feb. 8): A San Antonio couple who was stuck in Mexico after one of them almost died from tainted alcohol is now back home in the Alamo City.
Rachel Villarreal and Anthony Grigsby left Mexico City and now, Villarreal is being treated at a hospital in San Antonio.
She has a long recovery ahead, but she’s happy to be back home.
Watch the original report from KSAT below:
Original (Feb. 5): A San Antonio couple is experiencing what you’d describe as a “nightmare vacation.”
Anthony Grigsby, 41, and his girlfriend, Rachel Villarreal, 36, were supposed to be back in the Alamo City on Jan. 16. But since then, they’ve been in a Mexico City hospital.
“This, unfortunately, happened to us, and this is our story,” said Grigsby.
He told KSAT their ordeal began on Jan. 14. The couple had been enjoying the sights around Mexico City for three days when they got off a boat ride at Lago Huetzalin and decided to have drinks. That’s where Grigsby thinks it went downhill.
“We’re riding, and we see everybody has micheladas or beer. Everyone’s having a good time. Families [are] together, a bunch of locals, and we’re just — we just want to have a drink. So we got some shots,” said Grigsby.
He said the two walked around and took in the sights after that. Everything seemed fine until Villarreal began to feel sick.
“She was complaining of nausea, stomachaches,” said Grigsby.
From there, her symptoms intensified. Grigsby said he also felt ill the following day. Both he and Villarreal thought they were battling food poisoning.
Things took a turn for the worse on Jan. 16 when Grigsby said he woke up and found Villarreal unconscious on the floor.
“I get up and turn her over, and her eyes were rolling back. And that’s when I see three large welts on her head,” Grisby said.
He believes Villarreal hit her head when she fell on the floor. He called an ambulance, which rushed her to a hospital.
After days in the intensive care unit (ICU), doctors told Grigsby his girlfriend had neurological deterioration, usually associated with strokes.
“She nearly died. Her kidneys were shutting down,” he said.
Villarreal was also placed on a ventilator and had a tracheostomy procedure to help her breathe.
But Grigsby’s biggest shock came when doctors performed a toxicology screening on Villarreal. Results showed she had methanol and ecstasy in her system.
Grigsby said neither he nor Villarreal consumed those substances. After speaking with doctors and retracing their steps, Grigsby suspects the alcohol they consumed after their Jan. 14 boat ride was tainted.
While there’s no way to prove that, Grigsby’s story isn’t unique. In 2017, the U.S. State Dept. warned travelers going to Mexico about the potential danger of consuming tainted alcohol. That followed reports that multiple U.S. travelers got ill or blacked out after consuming alcohol in Mexican resorts.
On top of all the stress Grigsby has dealt with over the last few weeks, their medical bills are piling up. Villarreal was taken to a private medical facility for treatment in Mexico. Although the pair purchased health insurance for their trip, Grigsby said it doesn’t cover all expenses. Grigsby’s family set up a GoFundMe account for him and Rachel to tackle the mounting bills.
Grigsby said his chief concern is ensuring Villarreal recovers so they can safely return to San Antonio.
“I just want people to be aware that these things happen and that they need to take a lot of extra precautions when they are traveling a country,” said Grigsby.
On Monday afternoon, Grigsby told KSAT that Villarreal was finally walking. The couple hopes to return to San Antonio later this week.