Team Koral Reef Spreads Amoeba Awareness

The friends and family of a happy young woman who passed away unexpectedly are making sure her memory lives on as they work to give back to their community and beyond through an awareness campaign. After Koral Meister Pier unexpectedly passed away at the young age of 20 due to a brain-eating amoeba she contracted during a vacation to the river in 2013, her family and friends banded together to begin the Koral Reef Awareness Program, focusing on spreading public awareness and knowledge about the amoebas throughout the world. Based out of Colton, where the Meister family has longtime ties - Koral, as well as her great-grandmother and her grandfather, graduated from Colton High School - Team Koral Reef works to let people know about the amoeba and how it is contracted. The amoeba is said to enter through the blood brain barrier while a person is underwater. When it enters the body, the parasite goes directly to the brain. The Meister family, friends and supporters say that the ballamuthia mandrillaris and the Naegleria fowleri amoeba are becoming major health threats in waterways and want to help spread the word through the Team Koral Reef organization, they said. Koral had a very happy life, according to her family. At Colton High, she was involved in many activities including softball, soccer and travel ball, and she also helped her family at their family-owned drive-in Mexican food restaurant. She had just married her husband Corey Pier before she lost her battle to the amoeba. “Koral was true to herself and never wasted a day on jeopardizing her values and beliefs to accommodate her surroundings. Every moment was lived and cherished in her world. As her family and closest friends we are honored to say we bared witness to a woman that was a gladiator. This path that God had chosen has not ended and we still are forging ahead to honor Koral and her memories,” her family and friends shared on their Team Koral Reef GoFundMe page. As part of their awareness campaign, on Saturday, July 25, Team Koral Reef held a special amoeba awareness fundraiser at El Burrito Drive-In on Mount Vernon in Colton. El Burrito donated 50 percent of their proceeds to Team Koral Reef. Catherine Meister, Koral’s grandmother, shared, “It was a lot of fun. During the day many people came and ate, talked and asked questions and shared information with others about deaths from the brain eating amoeba.” She also shared that there was a lot of networking and communication about the possibility of contracting an amoeba from waterways. Recently national news broke about Naegleria fowleri being discovered in two communities in New Orleans. At the recent fundraiser, Team Koral Reef passed out informational brochures and were selling hats and t-shirts in order to help spread the word to others. According to WebMd, the single-celled brain eating amoeba was a species discovered in 1965. While there are several species of Naegleria, only the fowleri species causes human disease and there are several fowleri subtypes, all believed equally dangerous. Brain eating amoebas are found in warm water and can survive in water as hot as 113 degrees Fahrenheit, according to WebMD. It can be found in warm lakes, ponds and rock pits; mud puddles; warm, slow-flowing rivers; untreated swimming pools and spas; and aquariums, to name a few. Naegleria can't live in salt water. It can't survive in properly treated swimming pools or in properly treated municipal water. “What a great crowd," Catherine Meister said of the recent fundraser. "The family thanks you for allowing us to share information with you that could save your lives or the life of someone dear to you.Thank you El Burrito crew for being supportive, thank you to the volunteers who assisted, especially to Team Koral reef, who hosted the event and welcomed and made everyone feel comfortable.” Sybil Meister, Koral's mother, added, "Team Koral Reef is very thankful for all the people that took time out of their day to stop by and buy lunch and merchandise. We are dedicated to spreading awareness about these deadly brain eating amoebas." The team's dedication to spreading amoeba awareness overlaps on to social media. You can find Team Koral Reef of Twitter and Facebook for daily updates on anything amoeba related. If interested in supporting their cause, they also have a GoFundMe page: http://www.gofundme.com/teamkoralreef. [END] ORIGINAL ARTICLE BELOW - MIA, PLEASE DON'T USE ANYTHING BELOW! The friends and family of a happy young woman, Koral Meister Pier, who unexpectedly passed away at the age of 20 due to a brain-eating amoeba, developed the Koral Reef Awareness Program. This organization focuses on spreading amoeba public awareness and knowledge about the parasite around the world. Amoeba parasites are not limited to certain areas; therefore, the goal extends throughout the world, not just within the United States. Koral Meister acquired this amoeba during a vacation she spent at the river in 2013. The devastating journey began and it wasn't long until she started gradually getting symptoms. She was only 20 when she lost the battle with the brain eating amoeba parasite. The amoeba is said to enter through the “blood brain barrier” when you are underwater. When it enters, the parasite goes directly to the brain, which causes a very painful death. The Meister family, friends, and supporters are very much aware that the ballamuthia mandrillaris and the n. fowlera amoeba are becoming a major health threat in our waterways and want to help spread the word with this organization. Team Koral Reef is striving to raise awareness of this health threat and reassure everyone that acquiring an amoeba is not as rare as they think it is. Team Koral Reef began. The Meister family has long ties within the community of Colton; her grandfather and great-grandmother graduated from Colton High School. Koral Reef had a very happy life, according to her family. She also attended Colton High School, she was involved in many different activities including: softball, soccer, travel ball, and she also helped her family at their family-owned drive-in Mexican food restaurant. She had just got married to her husband Corey Pier before she lost her battle to the amoeba. “Koral was true to herself and never wasted a day on jeopardizing her values and beliefs to accommodate her surroundings. Every moment was lived and cherished in her world. As her family and closest friends we are honored to say we bared witness to a woman that was a gladiator. This path that God had chosen has not ended and we still are forging ahead to honor Koral and her memories,” shared by her family and friends on the Team Koral Reef fund me page. This past Saturday, July 25, Team Koral Reef held a special Amoeba Awareness fundraiser at El Burrito Drive-In on Mount Vernon in Colton. El Burrito donated fifty-percent of their proceeds to Team Koral Reef. Catherine Meister, Koral’s grandmother, shared, “It was a lot of fun, during the day many people came and ate, talked and asked questions and shared information with others about deaths from the brain eating amoeba. ” She also shared that there was a lot of networking and communication about the increasing danger in our waterways and even just from drinking water. Not only was there great food and conversation, but Team Koral Reef passed out informational brochures and were selling hats and t-shirts in order to help spread the word onto others. “What a great crowd. The family thanks you for allowing us to share information with you that could save your lives or the life of someone dear to you,” Catherine Meister added. “Thank you El Burrito crew for being supportive, thank you to the volunteers who assisted, especially to Team Koral reef, who hosted the event and welcomed and made everyone feel comfortable.” Sybil Meister, Koral's mother added, "Team Koral Reef is very thankful for all the people that took time out of their day to stop by and buy lunch and merchandise. We are dedicated to spreading awareness about these deadly brain eating amoebas." Evidently, there dedication to spreading amoeba awareness overlaps on to social media. You can find Team Koral Reef of Twitter and Facebook for daily updates on anything amoeba related. If interested in supporting their cause, they also have a go fund me page: http://www.gofundme.com/teamkoralreef. [END] To : City News Group: On July 25 from 11am to 4pm. the ' El Burrito Drive In located on Mt Vernon and Colton ave, 916 N. Mt. Vernon will donate one half of all proceeds that day to the Koral Reef Awareness Program. Koral Meister was 21 years old when she died of a brain eating amoeba, acquired when she was on a river vacation. The amoeba enters through the blood brain barrier, when you are underwater and goes directly to the brain, causing a very devastating and painful death. the ballamuthia mandrillaris and the n. fowlera amoeba are becoming a health threat in our waterways. Koral attended school in grand terrace, played softball, travel ball, and soccer, attended Colton high school. She worked with her family at the family owned drive in mexican food location, had been married only one year when the amoeba caused her death. Korals grandfather and greatgrandmother were graduates of Colton schools, so the family has long ties to this community. Team Koral Reef was formed this past year and we are dedicated to bringing awareness to the community,, so no one will have to suffer through such excruciatingly painful circumstances. Literature will be available on the 25th and amoeba awareness t shirts for sale... for further information, go to Koral Reef amoeba awareness facebook page or s.meister57@aol.com. Thank you and hope to see you there. Catherine Meister, grandmother 909 8256568 C.Meister Renarnm11@aol.com @teamkoralreef https://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-Koral-Reef-Amoeba-Awareness/307009306157503 http://www.pe.com/articles/amoeba-755707-lake-meister.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- On October 20th at 8:00 PM Christian Koral Reef Meister Pier lost her battle with Balamuthia Mandrillarius, a free living amoeba that attacked her brain causing swelling and infection. She was only 20 years of age and full of life. All of the knowledge, technology and modern medicine currently available were utilized in the effort to save Koral's life but we were unsuccessful. She is now in God's hands alongside her grandfather "Jigger" Jim, Uncle Timmy, and Uncle Creig. The family wishes to thank all of Team Koral Reef for all their thoughts and prayers during this tragic event. Her tremendous amount of strength and faith is not forgotten or unrecognized. Koral was a woman that faced life head on and fought the biggest battle imaginable. The inspiration she has left has not gone to waste. We are blessed to be here celebrating the life of a truly remarkable young woman. Koral was true to herself and never wasted a day on jeopardizing her values and beliefs to accommodate her surroundings. Every moment was lived and cherished in her world. As her family and closest friends we are honored to say we bared witness to a woman that was a gladiator. This path that God had chosen has not ended and we still are forging ahead to honor Koral and her memories The family and friends of Koral have developed this organization in the hope that it will raise amoeba awareness not only in the US but also the world as free living amoeba do not limit themselves to any certain geographical area. We are working on obtaining "non-profit" status and help raise the necessary funding for public awareness and education as well as water testing of our lakes, ponds, and any other bodies of fresh water in which our loved ones may swim. We also want to help fund the CDC's research of Balamuthia Mandrillarius. Currently it is not on the Nationally Notifiable Infectious Disease List and therefore, cannot receive funding for research. CDC funding would help give medical personnel better tools and training in the area of Balamuthia Mandrillarius and other free-living amoeba. Amoebic Encephalitis is frequently misdiagnosed and "mimicks" other, more common, illnesses like Meningitis only to be found caused by these amoebas during post mortem autopsies. Another goal of Team Koral Reef involves making mandatory reporting of ALL cases to the CDC and immediate water testing of suspected areas so that more accurate information can be published. Our professionals can then quickly and more accurately diagnose patients with Balamuthia and immediately start treatment and improve survival rates currently at less than 5%. http://www.gofundme.com/teamkoralreef