A mum is fighting to keep her daughter alive after doctors told her it was time to turn off her life support. They say she is 'brain stem dead' after a heart attack at work.
Orinta Spudyte, 18, who was previously fit and healthy, was working in her job as a waitress Bancone Golden Square in Soho, London, when she suddenly collapsed on June 16. She hit her head as she fell to the floor.
Her mum Vera Spudiene, 42, said her daughter, who was working six days a week and often didn't get home until the early hours, wasn't breathing for 48 minutes. Medics called to the scene managed to get her pulse back and she was taken to St Thomas' Hospital.
Vera claims that the restaurant has not provided her with CCTV images of the incident. However, the restaurant said it happened out of shot of the cameras, reports MyLondon.
Since Orinta's collapse, doctors have told Vera that two scans - an EEG and MRI - show she is "brain stem dead" and have asked her to turn off her daughter's life support. Devastated Vera has refused to do so and is demanding full access to the scans so she can get a second opinion.
Because Orinta has recently turned 18, doctors are bound by confidentiality, meaning it could be months before the scans are handed over. MyLondon understands Vera has the option of seeking a second opinion if she provides her own doctor.
Someone who is brain dead is legally confirmed as dead. They have no chance of recovery because their body is unable to survive without artificial life support, according to NHS guidance. Vera says she has spoken to nine different doctors, who have all advised her to sign a death certificate so they can turn off life support.
But Vera said she saw signs of life in the first two weeks after the heart attack. She said: "When I showed her a video of her singing, or her sister doing something funny, then she was crying. It was a tear down her cheek. And sometimes her finger moved - a little bit, but she moved. After last Friday there was no response, no finger moves, nothing."
Vera claims she has resisted "pressurising" conversations and "threats of legal action", as well as a psychologist provided by the hospital, who told her to "let her [Orinta's] body die". Vera said: "How can I sleep if I was not sure or not 100%, how can I live later?" The hospital did not respond to these specific claims.
Vera has already spoken to Archie Battersbee's mum Hollie Dance who is currently fighting in the High Court to stop St Bart's Hospital ending her 11-year-old son's life support after tests also showed it was "highly likely" he was brain stem dead. So far Vera has raised more than £6,000 and is looking for lawyers to take on her case.
Vera said: "She went to work on June 16 and after lunch I got a call from work that she collapsed and that she went to hospital. The very same day the doctor said she was brain dead. I said 'Leave me alone just for today'. After that it was really hell. I got big pressure from the doctor, he would say to me three to four times a day 'she is dead'.
"They do not ask me how I feel. I have had very big panic attacks and depression. He would just watch me have a panic attack on the sofa and then he would start again.
"I have asked for a second opinion and I need to see my daughter's results. A few years ago I lost my two brothers and mum, every year someone passed away from my family.
"The psychologist has not helped me, she is just pushing me. She said 'You have to let her body die, not only her brain'. You cannot imagine how I am feeling. I am really upset."
Hair extension business owner Vera has been forking out £75 a night to stay in a hostel - unable to work - while rotating with her only other daughter at Orinta's bedside. Speaking about her daughter, Vera said: "She is special. She is never angry, she is never upset, she is always smiling. She is always doing makeup and loves TikTok, she likes to change hairstyle, doing nails and doing eyebrows.
"Her dream was to become an accountant. She said to me 'mum, your business will one day be mine'. I was doing her extensions and she said 'I will be rich'. She works six days a week, would come back at two o'clock in the morning, sleep, and then go back to work.
"The last days before this accident we were planning to go to Lithuania for a holiday. She and her sister made plans to go to night clubs for her first time since she became 18.
"She has a lot of friends and she is very friendly, she would try absolutely everything. I can't believe this has happened, I am just in shock. Sometimes it comes in my head, I think 'what am I doing in this world? I am really really tired, I can't do this anymore.'"
A Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: “Orinta is currently receiving ongoing care on our intensive care unit. We understand that this is an extremely difficult time for the family and we are working with them to ensure Orinta receives the best care available, which includes providing them with the relevant clinical information.”
Bancone operations director Lena Yong said: "We are still shocked and upset about Orinta’s collapse in the restaurant. As soon as it happened, first aiders in the team rushed to help her, and we made the call to 999 within one minute.
"A team of four ambulances and paramedics arrived in less than 10 minutes. They acted quickly to attempt recovery.
"She was then taken to the hospital and we stayed with her in another ambulance until she got to A&E. We were not allowed to enter the area and waited for news outside the hospital for more than three hours about our valued colleague.
"Four of us in the team attempted to contact her mother continuously when the incident happened until we reached her, the police helped us to trace her and brought her mum and sister to the hospital immediately to see Orinta and to speak to the doctors. We only got the chance to see them from a distance outside the hospital and did comfort her, but she was not ready to ask questions at that time.
"Her mum did not speak to us after this day and she did not reach out even though we always attempted to contact her for support and comfort. We stayed connected with her sister every other day to get an update about her situation.
"We gave them time to reach out to us at their own convenience and we were always available for them and remain so today. We’re all traumatised by what happened with Orinta’s situation but she is in the best hands possible under the doctor’s care.
"We have checked the CCTV footage and sadly the incident happened in an area which we could not see the series of events. We were told by the paramedics that luckily it had happened in a public area and not somewhere where she could have been alone, and we acted quickly to get help for her to the best of everyone’s ability. We send all our love in our minds and hearts as we were not allowed to see her and wish her the speediest of recoveries."
