22-year-old travels to remote Pacific island for vacation, then his entire body starts shutting down in under 3 minutes

Soren Almeida, a 22-year-old traveler from California, experienced a scary medical emergency during his recent trip to Kiritimati Island in the Republic of Kiribati. His body completely locked up, and doctors later found out he had tetany caused by a serious electrolyte imbalance.

According to Newsweek, Almeida has been traveling on and off for the past four years, but his visit to this remote Pacific island quickly turned into the most frightening experience of his life. The symptoms didn’t develop slowly, but they hit him hard and fast. In less than three minutes, his body went from working normally to a full-blown crisis.

In his TikTok video, he revealed he thought he was “having a seizure” because he felt severe muscle cramps, numbness, dizziness, and his hands and legs started contracting uncontrollably. Almeida explained, “In under three minutes, I went from sitting normally in a chair to losing control of my legs, hands, and face.”

The isolation made an already terrifying situation even worse

The emergency became even more stressful because Kiritimati Island, also called Christmas Island, is extremely isolated with only about 7,380 people living there. Being so far from home made everything scarier, especially since the island has just one hospital located about 30 minutes away in the capital.

At the hospital, doctors diagnosed Almeida (@sorensuorin) with tetany, a condition where muscles contract involuntarily because the nerves are overly active. Doctors believe his tetany was caused by a combination of severe electrolyte imbalance, dehydration, heat, limited access to proper nutrition, and too much physical activity. Treatment focused on fixing the imbalance, which meant giving him rehydration salts mixed with four liters of water plus fluids through an IV.

While his body was failing, Almeida focused on the one thing he could still control: his breathing. Almeida explained, “When my hands and legs locked up, it was terrifying. The only things I could control were my breathing, praying, and grounding myself by naming objects I could see.”

Luckily, he wasn’t alone. The people he was staying with helped him tremendously by checking on him constantly, finding food to improve his nutrition, and making sure he was never by himself. He said he wouldn’t have survived without their support. Just 48 hours after leaving the hospital, Almeida flew back to California since flights from the island only leave once a week.

Back home, he had more medical tests, including blood work and an EKG. His experience shows how quickly things can go wrong when traveling to remote locations, similar to unexpected discoveries people make in unusual places. Recovery has been slow but steady, and he shared his story on TikTok, where his video got over 1.1 million views.

Almeida said, “Recovery has been gradual but positive. I’m improving, though it took time to regain full strength and stability. At this point, there doesn’t appear to be permanent damage, but it was a serious wake-up call.” His ordeal serves as a reminder to always be prepared when traveling, much like how one wrong ingredient can ruin what should be a simple experience.