Sas Parsad se despertó en medio de la madrugada con intensos dolores estomacales que inmediatamente asoció a una intoxicación alimentaria, pero fue el inicio de un largo camino que recorrió hasta recibir el diagnóstico que le cambió la vida.

Su odisea empezó hace 15 años. Parsad vive en la ciudad costera de Eastbourne, en Inglaterra, y tiene ahora 45 años. Pero todavía no olvida esa noche en la que empezó todo, cuando tenía 30 años.

Al principio, ni siquiera pensó en ir al médico: “Pensé que había comido algo dudoso, y que pasaría después de dos o tres días”, recordó en una entrevista a Metro. Sin embargo, después de diez días con dolores, decidió sacar un turno.

“Fue un dolor de calambres bastante alto, pero luego también urgencia, de necesidad de ir (al baño), y un tipo de dolor agudo, más bajo, pesado”, explicó. El profesional creyó que se trataba de una infección por Salmonella, pero todavía estaba lejos de descubrir lo que en verdad tenía.

El dolor aparecía y desaparecía constantemente. Pasó muchas noches despierto con problemas gastrointestinales. Su trabajo y su vida social se vieron significativamente afectados: estar lejos de un baño no era una opción posible para él.

“Estaba prácticamente confinado en casa y no podía trabajar. Iba y venía al baño 100 veces o más al día, adolorido y sangrando constantemente. Tenía miedo de comer, en caso de que lo empeorara. Estaba cansado y sin energía”, recordó.

Cuando salía de su casa, estaba pendiente de sus necesidades: “Era, ‘¿Dónde están los baños, están limpios y puedo acceder a ellos?’ Antes, nunca había deseado usar un baño público, pero la frase ‘cuando tienes que ir, tienes que ir’ adquirió un significado completamente nuevo para mí”.

Pasó un largo tiempo sin dar con el diagnóstico, probando diferentes dietas y hábitos sin éxito. En el transcurso de dos años perdió 15 kilos y desarrolló brotes de psoriasis alrededor de los ojos y en los codos. Su mamá, con quien vivía en ese momento, lo animó a volver al médico y solicitar más pruebas.

El diagnóstico que le cambió la vida

Se sometió a múltiples resonancias magnéticas, una colonoscopia y una endoscopia que le permitieron dar con el diagnóstico: Parsad tenía la enfermedad de Crohn. Se trata de una enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal que causa hinchazón e irritación de los tejidos en el tracto digestivo.

“Me golpearon con: ‘Es la enfermedad de Crohn’. Me dijeron que era crónico, grave y de por vida”, contó. “Me dijeron que tendría que extirpar parte de mi intestino dentro de tres a cinco años y me aconsejaron que tomara medicamentos con esteroides e inmunosupresores de inmediato”.

El diagnóstico fue devastador para Parsad: “Creo que me desmayé. Es muy vago en mi memoria, pero recuerdo que me pusieron en la cama y me dieron un vaso de agua”, recordó.

Después de unos días, Parsad decidió hacer todo lo que esté a su alcance para mejorar su calidad de vida y se dedicó a aprender más sobre las formas de controlar su enfermedad.

Empezó a implementar el ayuno intermitente y cambió muchos de sus hábitos: “Recorté todos los azúcares, basura refinada, cosas procesadas y me deshice de todos los ingredientes molestos y dañinos que se esconden en los alimentos envasados”.

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Después de eso, empezó a notar beneficios casi inmediatos. “Los síntomas se desvanecieron, y mis niveles de energía estaban por las nubes. Me sentí mucho mejor… volví a encarrilar mi vida”, reveló en la entrevista.

Pero no sólo cambió su alimentación, también empezó a hacer ejercicio y priorizar el descanso: “Intento salir todos los días, tomo vitamina D, me mantengo hidratado, estoy estructurado con mi sueño, y me ha sorprendido lo mucho mejor que me hizo sentir”.

“Para mí, el vaso está medio lleno. Sí, tengo una condición crónica que puede ser desafiante a veces, pero en comparación con lo que algunas personas tienen que pasar, es una gota en el océano”, expresó a Metro.

“No tengo ninguna intención de someterme a ningún tipo de cirugía ni de tomar ningún medicamento mientras pueda evitarlo. Por ahora, toco madera, la tengo bajo control”, concluyó.

After being scorned on social media, «Dirty Jobs» television show veteran Mike Rowe doubled down on his criticism of Jimmy Kimmel’s «tone deaf» monologues mocking new Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin for being a former plumber.

Rowe said he had not noticed his post about late-night host Kimmel «belittling plumbers» had gone viral, because he had been too busy working.

«I want to apologize for not responding to any of the 22 thousand comments my last post inspired,» he wrote. «I’ve been filming all week and just noticed my observations about Jimmy Kimmel and a former plumber named Markwayne Mullin have gone viral.»

Rowe said that Kimmel’s digs at Mullin for being a former plumber are evidence of «longstanding stigmas and stereotypes» against blue-collar skilled trade workers as «uneducated, one-dimensional workers who never made it to college.»

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«I did not suggest – even remotely – that a plumber was inherently qualified to hold a cabinet position,» he wrote on X. «What I said was that being a plumber should not disqualify a person from holding such a position.»

Kimmel, a regular critic of the Trump administration, was recently criticized as elitist for using Mullin’s prior experience as a plumbing business owner as evidence that he is unqualified to lead the Department of Homeland Security. 

«Trump’s got a whole new generation of thinkers lined up, including his newly confirmed secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne ‘Chuck Mike Bruce Dave’ Melon — Mullin. Maybe Melon’s better,» Kimmel said on air March 24. «He’s the now former senator of Oklahoma. Before he was elected to the Senate, Markwayne Mullin was a low-level MMA fighter and a plumber. That’s right. We have a plumber protecting us from terrorism now. It worked for Super Mario. Why not Markwayne?»

He continued, «But honestly — I mean, if Trump is going to keep picking these unqualified people to run the department, why not have more fun with it? I mean, next time, instead of Markwayne, how about Lil Wayne for Homeland Security? At least we can get a concert out of it, right?»

Kimmel later doubled down, saying, «I’m not upset that the head of Homeland Security used to be a plumber. I’m upset that he isn’t still a plumber.»

JIMMY KIMMEL REFUSES TO BACK DOWN AFTER MOCKING SECRETARY MULLIN OVER PLUMBING BACKGROUND

Mike Rowe said that digs at Markwayne Mullin, right, for being a former plumber evidence «longstanding stigmas and stereotypes» against blue-collar skilled trade workers.  (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images)

Rowe had ripped late-night host Kimmel for the dig, saying he took offense at the «suggestion that skilled workers should never evolve into something new.» 

He asked if Mullin’s career progression from plumbing business owner to Congress and then to a top Cabinet official is «not the embodiment of the American Dream?»

On Friday, he wrote that stereotypes reinforced by jokes like Kimmel’s are contributing to a critical shortage of American skilled laborers. 

«Reasonable people can disagree as to what is funny and what isn’t. Frankly, I couldn’t care less. What I do care about,» he wrote, «is the extraordinary shortage of plumbers and electricians our country is facing, and the longstanding stigmas and stereotypes that continue to discourage people from considering a lucrative career in the skilled trades.»

«Jimmy’s joke – and his audience’s reaction to it,» wrote Rowe, «is proof positive that those stigmas and stereotypes are alive and well.»

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Jimmy Kimmel, host of «Jimmy Kimmel Live!» at the Disney Advertising Upfront on May 13, 2025, at North Javits in New York City.  (Michael Le Brecht/Disney via Getty Images)

Digging even deeper, Rowe asked, «What do their credentials and diplomas have to do with their actual competency? Are we not already surrounded by a legion of perfectly qualified experts who don’t know what the hell they’re doing?»

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«Jimmy is entitled to his opinion, along with anyone else who believes that Mullin is unqualified to lead the DHS,» he wrote on X. «The Constitution, however, says otherwise, and so does the Senate.» 

Rowe, who runs a nonprofit promoting skilled labor careers called the mikeroweWORKS Foundation, concluded by encouraging people to launch a career in the skilled trades, saying, «Who knows? Could be the first step on your road to President.»

Fox News Digital reached out to spokespeople for Kimmel for comment. 

The Department of Homeland Security revealed that a suspect who fled to China after allegedly planting a deadly explosive device at an important military base is the child of two Chinese illegal immigrants.  

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Chinese nationals Qiu Qin Zou and Jia Zhang Zheng, both of whom were living in the U.S. illegally, Homeland Security said. Their arrests came following two of their adult children, Ann Mary Zheng and Alen Zheng, being connected to a failed plot to detonate an improvised explosive device (IED) at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida in mid-March. 

The base, located in Florida, is home to U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, and Special Operations Command, which oversees all special operations forces across the Department of War.

The alleged perpetrators of the attempt were born in the U.S. after their parents illegally entered the country, according to the Department of Homeland Security. 

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The agency asserted the case «illustrates why the improper recognition of ‘birthright citizenship’ for children of illegal aliens is not only inconsistent with the Constitution, but endangers all Americans.»

Birthright citizenship refers to the principle that anyone born on U.S. soil is automatically granted U.S. citizenship. 

The FBI said Alen Zheng, who is believed to have planted the improvised explosive device at MacDill Air Force Base on March 10, is currently in China. He is facing charges of attempted damage to government property by fire or explosion, unlawful making of a destructive device and possession of an unregistered destructive device, which carry a potential sentence of up to 40 years in prison.

FBI Tampa arrested Ann Mary Zheng March 17 following her return to the U.S. from China, where she had fled with her brother. She has been charged with accessory after the fact and tampering with evidence, facing up to 30 years in prison. 

She is accused of hiding or damaging a 2010 Mercedes-Benz to prevent its use in legal proceedings, court documents show. 

Prosecutors allege that the siblings attempted to cover their tracks by selling the vehicle to car dealer CarMax. Despite being vacuumed and cleaned, investigators later discovered trace explosive residue inside the vehicle.

The day after Ann Mary Zheng’s arrest, ICE apprehended both parents, Qiu Qin Zou and Jia Zhang Zheng. They are currently in ICE custody, according to the Department of Homeland Security. 

Both parents applied for asylum in the U.S. but were denied and ordered removed by an immigration judge in 1998, according to the agency. 

The Department of Homeland Security said the Bureau of Immigration Appeals denied multiple attempts by the parents to have their case reopened. Despite this, both remained living in the U.S. illegally for nearly three decades.

The department is positing that this case highlights the «grave danger» of current U.S. law granting automatic citizenship to anyone born on American soil, including the children of illegal immigrants.

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Anne Mary Zheng is charged with accessory after the fact and tampering with evidence, facing up to 30 years in prison.  (DHS)

Following the parents’ arrests, Acting Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said that «automatically granting citizenship to children of illegal aliens born in the U.S. … poses a major national security risk.»

«That reality became apparent last week when two U.S.-born children of Chinese illegal aliens were indicted for planting a potentially deadly explosive device outside MacDill Air Force Base in Florida,» said Bis, who added that, «This incident underscores the severe national security threat that illegal immigration and birthright citizenship pose to the United States.»

Bis also asserted that the policy of granting automatic birthright citizenship «is based on a historically inaccurate interpretation of the Citizenship Clause» of the 14th Amendment.

The Supreme Court is currently weighing the constitutionality of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that would end birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants. Trump signed the order on his first day back in the Oval Office in 2025. 

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Police officers with the Tampa Police Department block traffic along South Dale Mabry Highway near the main entrance of MacDill Air Force Base, which houses CENTCOM headquarters, after a suspicious package was reported at the gate in Tampa, Florida, on March 16, 2026.  (Octavio Jones/AFP via Getty Images)

The court held oral arguments on the case this Wednesday, with justices appearing skeptical of Trump’s order.

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Amy Swearer, a senior legal fellow at Advancing American Freedom, described the court’s line of questioning as «disappointing» for proponents of Trump’s stance on birthright citizenship.

«Most people understood coming into this, and I suspect even the government understood coming into this, that this was probably going to be a bit of an uphill battle,» Swearer said.

Despite this, Swearer said, «I do think there’s a path forward» for a Trump victory, though it would likely be narrow and partial.

Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg and Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.