A teenager has spoken of her horror after she was spiked at Leeds Festival over the weekend, saying she has 'never felt pain like it' and was left 'unable to breathe'.
Maria Mendes, 17, was supposed to enjoy a fun trip to the popular festival with friends. But what should have been a weekend of music and memories turned into a nightmare, after she blacked out 'nearly lost her life'.
In a viral TikTok she told of how she enjoyed one alcoholic drink in her tent with friends before heading out to the main area, where she only drank water. But she said she suddenly turned dizzy and started vomiting, and was unable to stay on her feet. Her friends took her to the medical tent at Leeds Festival before she "had a four minute long seizure and almost died", reports YorkshireLive.
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Maria was rushed to hospital in an ambulance after lying unconscious in the medical tent, and remembers waking up to her mum "crying and praying I would live".
"I never thought this would be me," she said. "I was in the crowd and started feeling unwell and dizzy. I couldn’t stand on my own and I was throwing up. I couldn't see and everything went black.
"I was unconscious in the medical tent for so long until I had a four minute long seizure. I had to have a tube in my nose as I couldn’t breathe.
"I nearly died as a seizure that lasts nearly five minutes is a medical emergency. My mum thought I was going to die."
Maria said she's "never felt pain like it" and days later she is still in pain. She added: "I woke up scared and alone in a CT scanner. No one deserves this."
The teen believes she was spiked via injection. The music lover, who has also attended Wireless Festival in the past, now wants to raise as much awareness as possible about what happened to her to prevent it happening to other young people.
She said: "I want to bring awareness to this horrific crime that happens to so many people at these big events. This could've been prevented. The next person may not be as lucky."
One of Maria's friends who was with her in hospital took photographs and video footage of what happened so the friends were able to raise awareness.
Maria shared a clip on her TikTok page which has raked in over 1.6million views on her page @xmariamendes. Thousands of people commented on the video offering support to the spiking victim, and some even shared their own experiences.
One TikToker replied to the video and said: "I was spiked as well at Leeds and ended up in hospital for two days with drug induced psychosis. It was honestly crazy."
One nurse also replied and said: "We had a lot of people in from Leeds Festival into A&E. I didn't treat you but hope you're doing better."
@karenfiskel added: "Sending love. Someone did this to my daughter last year. The most frightening time of my life and hers. What is the world coming to. No one is safe."
Maria's bravery to share her "horrific" story comes after West Yorkshire Police confirmed they were investigating two accounts of spiking with an injection at the festival held on Bank Holiday weekend.
One of the girls, who are both aged 17 and unknown to one another, suffered severe seizures in her mum's car. She had driven 70 miles to pick up her daughter after she was told she had been spiked. A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said: "Police are investigating after two 17-year-old girls reported being victims of possible needle spiking at Leeds Festival.
"Both girls received medical attention on site after they reported feeling unwell in separate incidents on Saturday. Crimes have been recorded for both reports and enquiries are ongoing."
It follows the tragic death of a 16-year-old boy who is thought to have taken MDMA. He was taken ill on Saturday night at around 10.15pm and died the next day in hospital.
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