A young father-to-be may never hold his baby after bungling paramedics mistook his stroke for drunkenness – and he has been in a coma ever since.
Ion Chiperi, 22, was in bed with his partner, Doina, who is eight months pregnant, when he suddenly began to feel unwell.
‘One night he woke me up saying that he couldn’t feel his legs. He could barely speak,’ Doina told the Daily Mail.
Alarmed, she called emergency services and an ambulance arrived at their property in Sevenoaks, Kent.
But after assessing Ion, paramedics allegedly dismissed his symptoms – which were consistent with a stroke – as drunkenness, refusing to take him to hospital despite Doina insisting he hadn’t been drinking.
Trusting their advice, Doina, who is also 22, went back to bed, unaware that the decision would leave her partner fighting for his life.
The next morning, she woke to find Ion foaming at the mouth and unresponsive. ‘I thought he was dead,’ she said.
A second ambulance rushed Ion to hospital, but even then, doctors allegedly failed to take his condition seriously – giving him vitamins and continuing to treat him ‘like a drunk person.’
A young father-to-be may never hold his baby after bungling paramedics mistook his stroke for drunkenness – leaving him in a coma. Ion Chiperi, 22, (left) was in bed with his partner, Doina (right), who is eight months pregnant, when he suddenly began to feel unwell
‘One night he woke me up saying that he couldn’t feel his legs. He could barely speak,’ Doina told the Daily Mail
After assessing Ion, paramedics dismissed his symptoms – which were consistent with a stroke – as drunkenness, refusing to take him to hospital despite Doina insisting he hadn’t been drinking. Now just weeks away from giving birth, Doina faces motherhood alone
Doina says doctors later admitted the paramedics had been ‘wrong,’ and that if surgery had been carried out just hours earlier, Ion ‘would have walked out of hospital’
Ion arrived at the hospital at 9.30am on September 23, but a brain scan was not ordered until around 7pm.
Tests later revealed a blood clot in his brain, and he was taken for emergency surgery at 9.30pm.
The operation was successful, but by then the damage had been done.
Ion has been fighting for his life ever since. He cannot move or speak, and communicates only by blinking his eyes.
Doina says doctors later admitted the paramedics had been ‘wrong,’ and that if the surgery had been carried out just hours earlier, Ion ‘would have walked out of hospital’.
Now just weeks away from giving birth, Doina faces motherhood alone.
She has launched a GoFundMe page to help cover the cost of Ion’s long-term rehabilitation and recovery.
The mother-to-be also plans to take legal action for medical negligence, saying her family deserves justice.
Ion’s loved ones are clinging to hope that, with the right support, he may one day regain the ability to move, speak – and hold his baby.
Matthew Trainer, Chief Executive, Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: ‘This is a sad case involving a young man having a stroke unexpectedly and we’re sorry Ion wasn’t referred to our specialist team sooner.
‘He was given a head CT scan within 30 minutes of arriving at A&E due to a suspected head injury, which showed no abnormalities.
‘Various tests were then carried out to determine the cause of his condition which resulted in him being referred to our stroke team and undergoing a mechanical thrombectomy on the same day.’
Dr Fenella Wrigley, Chief Medical Officer at London Ambulance Service, said: ‘We are very sorry to hear about this case, and recognise how difficult this must be for the patient and his family.
‘We take any concerns about the care we provide extremely seriously and will be in contact with the family directly in order to investigate this matter thoroughly.’
