MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories
Medical Mysteries - "A Rare Bird"
Mon, 10 Feb 2025
This story is a fan favorite from MrBallen's Medical Mysteries.In 2020, a career-driven young woman in Ohio begins to hallucinate strange sounds and feels phantom sensations in her body. She believes she’s going insane. But the real reason is far more disturbing. Listen Now: Wondery.fm/MBMMFor 100s more stories like this one, check out my YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallenIf you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @MrBallenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chapter 1: What is 'A Rare Bird' about in Mr. Ballin's Medical Mysteries?
This week's story is called Rare Bird. It was past midnight in June of 2020 in Sandusky, Ohio, and 25-year-old Lauren Wells lay in her bed wide awake. She had to be up early for work and had been trying to fall asleep for hours. But all night long, the faint sound of music coming from her upstairs neighbors had made sleep impossible. The tune they kept playing was extremely irritating.
Chapter 2: What mysterious symptoms did Lauren experience?
Sometimes it was very generic sounding, like elevator music. Then it seemed to switch to some kind of strange experimental jazz. Lauren had just moved into her apartment and didn't want to cause any trouble with her new neighbors, but they clearly were not stopping anytime soon. So she finally climbed out of bed and grabbed her broom.
She was just about to knock on the ceiling with her broom when the direction of the music suddenly changed. Now it sounded like it was coming from next door. Lauren shook her head in frustration. She didn't want to start a fight with the entire complex. So she climbed back into her bed and threw her pillow over her head. She could still hear the music, but eventually she drifted off to sleep.
The next morning at 8 a.m., Lauren arrived at her job as a nursing home administrator. She had just been hired two months ago, and she was proud that she'd gotten this position at such a young age. Running the nursing home was Lauren's dream job. She loved interacting with the elderly residents and wanted to make a difference in their lives.
So even though she was running on fumes at this point from a lack of sleep, Lauren pushed through the day, checking in on staff and residents and running various meetings. Thankfully, it was a Friday, so Lauren had the weekend to look forward to. She and her friends were heading to one of the islands off of Lake Erie, which is one of the Great Lakes.
Lauren hoped some time outdoors would help her regain some energy. And the weekend getaway was just what she needed. The sun was out, there was a gentle breeze over the lake, and the water was cool and refreshing. Lauren was excited to reconnect with her best friends, and on their first night out, they went out to dance and have some drinks.
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Chapter 3: How did Lauren's condition affect her daily life?
She forgot about work and her annoying neighbors and just enjoyed herself. But as the evening progressed, Lauren found herself using the bathroom more than usual, but she figured it was just because she was drinking. A little while later, when she was on the dance floor, she felt a sharp pain on her left side. The pain stayed with her the rest of the night.
She thought it was menstrual cramps and did her best to ignore them. Nothing was going to stop her from having a fun weekend. And by the time she got home Sunday night, she was feeling better, just like she had hoped. But soon after Lauren stepped into her apartment, her good mood evaporated. Her neighbors were playing that annoying elevator music again.
The faint melodies seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Lauren dropped her bags and shook her head. She wasn't going to let this upset her. It was late and she knew she needed to get some sleep. So she unpacked and got ready for bed. But just like before, it was impossible to relax with that music coming through the walls.
She tossed and turned for hours until finally exhaustion overtook her. When Monday morning rolled around, Lauren was definitely not feeling well. She figured she was paying for her weekend of partying, so she tried to shake it off. She made herself a cup of coffee and got on the treadmill for her daily run.
But she'd only been on the treadmill for a minute when once again, she felt an intense pain in her left side and had to stop running. It almost felt like someone was punching her hard, but from the inside. This pain went far beyond menstrual cramps. She figured something else had to be going on. Lauren thought back to everything she did at Lake Erie.
She wondered if she had pulled a muscle while she was out swimming. It didn't seem likely, but she couldn't think of anything else that would explain the pain. Lauren had no idea how she was going to get through the day, much less the week, but she didn't want to call in sick. She was still new to her job and people were counting on her.
So she slowly got dressed while wincing in pain and got ready for work. And as she did, she thought to herself, at least her neighbors weren't playing that God awful music. Once Lauren arrived at work, she did her morning rounds and sat down at her desk to take care of some paperwork. But as hard as she tried, she just couldn't focus. There was something distracting her.
It was that weird music she kept hearing in her apartment. It made no sense that the same music would be playing in the nursing home. Lauren looked around just to see if there were any speakers nearby, but there was none. She tried to ignore the disjointed melody, but it was impossible. It seemed like it was coming from everywhere. But then she realized something that made her heart start racing.
If there really wasn't any music actually playing right now, that could only mean one thing. The music was only happening in her head. She wondered if she was going crazy, but before she jumped to any conclusions, Lauren thought of someone who might be able to help her. She had a friend who was an audiologist, which is a doctor that specializes in hearing.
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Chapter 4: What reactions did Lauren's doctors have to her symptoms?
Her hands felt like they were covered in a thick layer of dirt, and they felt sticky too, almost as if a glue stick had melted in her palm. She kept scrubbing her hands with soap and hot water, but she couldn't get them to feel clean. Lauren was totally confused. She'd never felt anything like this before. And it wasn't long before that same sensation spread to her feet.
Lauren felt like her socks were glued to her toes. At first, it was just a little bit irritating, but then it became totally unbearable. She started going barefoot at work, which helped a little bit. She realized it was weird, but she couldn't stand the thought of putting her shoes and socks back on.
Lauren was afraid that there was a connection between her auditory hallucinations and now her hands and feet feeling dirty all the time. But she had no idea what that connection could be. Lauren's instinct was telling her to go see a doctor, but she imagined how ridiculous it would all sound. She hung on to what her friend, the audiologist, had told her about feeling better with some rest.
And so Lauren convinced herself that this was the weekend she would finally get some sleep and all these problems would just finally go away. That Saturday night, more than two weeks after her strange symptoms had begun, Lauren climbed into bed exhausted. She tried to ignore the strange soundtrack playing in her head, her sticky hands and feet, and the dull pain still in her left side.
She pulled the comforter up to her chin, and she tried to meditate, letting the sounds of birds outside her window lull her to sleep. But after a few minutes, Lauren's eyes flew open. She realized that the birds singing outside her window were seagulls. Seagulls live near water, and there was not an ocean or a lake anywhere near her.
The seagulls got louder and louder, and finally sounded like they might just fly right into a room at any second. Lauren knew that no amount of rest was going to make them go away, because just like the music, these squawking seagulls were in her head. She couldn't wait any longer. She needed to see a doctor.
Almost 500 miles away in Easton, Pennsylvania, Lauren's father, Brad, was sound asleep at home when his phone rang. He saw Lauren's name on the caller ID and felt his stomach tighten. She wouldn't be calling so late if something wasn't wrong. After he answered the phone, Lauren told him what had been going on for the past couple of weeks.
She had reached the point where she was so worried about her symptoms that she was heading to the emergency room to get checked out. Brad could hear the panic in her voice, and that made him scared. He was fully awake now, calculating how long it would take him to drive to Ohio.
He jumped out of bed and reached for his clothes, telling Lauren he was on his way, but she told him he should stay home. She wanted to see what the doctor had to say before he made such a long trip. Brad reluctantly agreed to hold off, but he told Lauren to call as soon as she had any answers. 30 minutes after talking to her father, Lauren arrived at the emergency room.
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Chapter 5: Why did Lauren end up in the hospital?
Her dad said he totally understood her frustration, but the doctors knew what they were doing. He asked Lauren to at least start taking the anti-anxiety medication. With any luck, they'd let her get some sleep, and then at that point, with a clear head, she could reassess her situation. Lauren was not convinced, but she promised her dad that she would try.
Later that week, Lauren drove to work as usual. She'd been taking her anxiety medication, but so far, it really wasn't helping. She still heard all the mysterious music playing everywhere she went, and so she really wasn't getting more than an hour or two of sleep at night. She gulped down some strong black coffee, but nothing could cut through her brain fog.
She'd been a zombie at work all week, often losing track of what she was supposed to be doing. Lauren turned into the parking lot, pulled into her parking spot, and then got out of her car, and as she walked towards the building, she left the engine running and her keys in the ignition, and her laptop and purse were still on the passenger seat. Lauren entered the conference room in a daze.
She felt like she was moving in slow motion, and she barely registered the team of nurses who were already there for the weekly staff meeting. Lauren sat down at the table and tried to read the agenda, but the words looked like a jumble of hieroglyphics. At some point, Lauren tried to say something, but nothing came out of her mouth.
She looked at the faces of her colleagues, who were now staring at her in confusion, and suddenly Lauren realized she had no idea how she had gotten there or what she was supposed to do. The nurses who were at the meeting with Lauren could tell something was wrong with her. They helped Lauren lie down on a nearby sofa and took her blood pressure, which was extremely high.
She could hear another nurse calling 911. Lauren tried not to panic, but the fear was overwhelming. Then her mind went totally blank. By the time the ambulance arrived, Lauren was starting to come out of her trance-like state. The fog that had been clouding her mind had lifted, and she felt more clear-headed than she had in a long time.
She insisted that she did not need to go to the hospital, but the staff wouldn't hear of it. And so, after some gentle coaxing, they convinced Lauren to get in the ambulance. The paramedics took Lauren to a local hospital where doctors ran a series of tests. As she waited for the results, she felt surprisingly calm.
She was so relaxed that she began texting her friends to come hang out with her in the hospital. She said she was having a great time. Lauren's friends were taken aback by these text messages. They knew what she was going through, and this just didn't sound like her at all. A little while later, Lauren's father, Brad, was busy at work when his cell phone rang.
He'd been on edge the whole week worrying about his daughter. When he saw it wasn't her number, he felt relieved. But then he realized the person calling him had an area code from Sandusky, the town where Lauren lived. Brad's stomach tightened as he answered. It was one of Lauren's friends. She told Brad that Lauren was in the hospital and that she was not doing well.
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Chapter 6: How did Lauren's father, Brad, react to her situation?
To start your ad-free listening journey, download the Amazon Music app for free or head to amazon.com slash ballin. That's amazon.com slash b-a-l-l-e-n. Dive into uninterrupted true crime stories today. If you're listening to this podcast, then chances are good you are a fan of The Strange, Dark, and Mysterious. And if that's the case, then I've got some good news.
We just launched a brand new Strange, Dark, and Mysterious podcast called Mr. Ballin's Medical Mysteries. And as the name suggests, it's a show about medical mysteries. a genre that many fans have been asking us to dive into for years, and we finally decided to take the plunge, and the show is awesome.
In this free weekly show, we explore bizarre unheard of diseases, strange medical mishaps, unexplainable deaths, and everything in between. Each story is totally true and totally terrifying. Go follow Mr. Ballin's Medical Mysteries wherever you get your podcasts, and if you're a Prime member, you can listen early and ad-free on Amazon Music.
Seven hours later, Brad finally arrived at the hospital in Sandusky and he raced to the admissions desk. Just moments earlier, his daughter had called him with the stunning news that she was admitting herself into the psychiatric ward of the hospital. And so Brad, all he wanted to do was just get to his daughter.
Once he entered the patient area, Brad was greeted by a doctor and brought to Lauren's room. But he was only allowed to see her through a shatterproof glass window on her locked door. And what he saw shook him to the core. Lauren was writhing on the floor, screaming and begging to be let out.
She was trying to tear off her shirt, food was splattered on the walls, and an empty tray and plate were upside down on the floor. Brad was stunned. Lauren had called him just a couple of hours earlier and seemed fairly clear-headed, and so he didn't understand how her condition could have changed so drastically.
The doctor explained that he was giving Lauren medicine to treat schizophrenia, which is a serious mental disorder that causes people to hallucinate and experience delusions. They'd already started on her medication, but it would need time to take effect. Brad shook his head in disbelief.
There was no history of mental illness in their family, and Lauren had always been so happy and well-adjusted. The doctor could only shrug. Schizophrenia did have a tendency to run in families, but it also struck out of the blue, usually in young adults any time between their late teens and early 20s, and Lauren was 25. The diagnosis was terrifying.
Rad was desperate to do something to help, but all he could do was wait for Lauren's medication to kick in. It was early in the morning when Brad left the hospital after Lauren had finally calmed down. He checked into a nearby hotel and sank into an exhausted sleep, thinking about his daughter and praying that she would be back to her normal self by the time he woke up.
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