“Man infected with human botfly larvae in Costa Rica jokes about gender reveal party for his triplets”

‘The three babies are perfectly healthy and still growing strong‘, Freek writes in two videos from the hospital. ‘Bizarre thought that new life is developing within my body, growing from my own flesh and blood (literally)!’

Freek no longer suffers from shooting pains in his leg due to the larvae. ‘It does bleed more and more often, so I may soon have to wrap something around it to prevent blood stains in my trousers. And so as not to frighten people who are surprised that you suddenly start bleeding from your leg in public.’

You have been warned about the images:

Freek fell victim to the human botfly (Dermatobia hominis) in Costa Rica. This is a species of hornet whose larvae parasitize humans, in this case Freek. Sounds almost as horrific as the conditions in The Last of Usbut Freek wouldn’t be Freek if he didn’t find it really cool.

In the videos, he jokes about planning a gender reveal party. He also writes: ‘Funnily enough, I’m starting to appreciate them more and more every day. It is fascinating to see how they develop, but also how they continuously stick their ‘butt’ out of the air hole to breathe (video two, watch at your own risk).’

For the time being, Freek will leave the larvae in his leg. ‘What shall I call them? Who will come up with the best name for my triplets?’ he asks his followers. Franky Vedder, Freek’s girlfriend, suggests: ‘Franky, Franka and Babe.’ Another proposes a more striking ‘Get, Ver en Derrie’.

In 2016, the biologist already brought three larvae with him from Belize. He jokingly called these at the time Chip, Babbel and Schnabbel.