LOS ANGELES, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- A pageant mom in Florida is the subject of an upcoming episode of Untold Stories of the E.R. after forcing her daughter to ingest tapeworms in order to slim down for competition.

Upon checking into the emergency room with severe stomach pains, nurse Maricar Cabral-Osorio thought the teen was pregnant. But an ultrasound showed no fetus -- although there was an inexplicable growth in her intestines.


Recounted and reenacted for Discovery Fit & Health's anything-but-subtle medical scare docudrama, the unfortunate teenage contestant's condition became clear upon a fateful trip to the bathroom.

"It was a toilet bowl full of tapeworms," Cabral-Osorio recalled.

"It was so gross and she had pooped all these tapeworms. There were a couple that were very long and wiggling around trying to get out of the toilet bowl."

Having passed the parasites, the teen was then assumed to be fine. But one question remained -- how did she get the tapeworms in the first place?

After an apparent fight between the mother and daughter, it became clear the mother bought a pill of tapeworm eggs in Mexico and forced her daughter to take it to lose weight for an upcoming pagent.

"We were wondering how did she get those tapeworms, and then you saw the mom turn white," Cabral-Osorio said.

"The mom was apologizing to the girl. It's like 'I'm so sorry. You know, I did it just to make you a little skinnier. You needed some help before we went on to the pageant."

It is unclear when the incident occurred or if criminal charges were brought against the mother.