Teen told by NHS she was 'anxious' left brain damaged and unable to speak or move
A teenage girl has been left with brain damage after she was told the seizures she was suffering from were caused by anxiety.
Rubie Boyton had only just turned 16 when she had a cardiac arrest in a park near her Ashford home in May last year.
A friend performed CPR while they waited for help to arrive, and she was airlifted to London’s King's College Hospital and placed into an induced coma.
Her brain had been starved of oxygen for 31 minutes and doctors said she'd suffered life-changing brain damage, with Rubie now unable to communicate properly.
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She'd had seizures in 2020 and 2022 before the cardiac arrest, but Rubie's mum Kim Tucker said doctors took no further tests and told the girl they'd been caused by anxiety, giving her paracetamol.
The teenager spent nine months in London before being transferred to Canterbury Hospital, and she was diagnosed with a rare heart disorder called catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT).
It's thought to be passed down by a parent via a faulty gene and can result in an abnormally fast heartbeat if triggered by physical or emotional stress.
Her mum said Rubie should have been diagnosed earlier.
"I feel sadness because Rubie didn't deserve this. She had two previous seizures and no further testing was done. It was just put down to anxiety," the mum said.
"Nobody had thought it could be a warning sign. I guess if doctors were worried they would have done more tests."
CPVT affects around one in 10,000 people, and it was set off in the park when Rubie and her friends were approached by another group of girls.
Kim said that even if that hadn't happened 'it would have absolutely happened at another time', and is encouraging other parents whose children have seizures when they're stressed to have them tested.
The teenager still has a dangerously high heartbeat but her mum says she's been doing 'a lot of smiling and laughing', and the family hopes she'll be able to return home soon.
However, the home isn't suitable for Rubie's needs at the moment and the family have set up a GoFundMe which can be donated to here to raise money towards the work required to turn their home into somewhere the teenager can live.
Kim and Rubie's stepdad Simon have both had to stop working to care for the teenager, with the hope that they'll raise enough to afford her 'own little house' that'll have a bedroom, lounge and wet room.
Symptoms of CPVT
Some people with CPVT show no symptoms, but the main ones can be brought on by stress and physical activity.
According to the British Heart Foundation, the condition is a genetic change that alters the way proteins regulate the release of calcium ions, leading to a rise of calcium in the cells which can trigger abnormal heart rhythms.
It can especially cause very fast heart rhythms known as ventricular tachycardia.
The common symptoms of CPVT include:
- Blackouts
- Palpitations
- Dizziness
- Fainting
Joe Harker