Expectant Father's Stroke Dismissed as Drunkenness by Paramedics
A young father-to-be may never hold his newborn child after bungling paramedics allegedly mistook his stroke for drunkenness, leaving him in a coma. Ion Chiperi, 22, was in bed with his eight-months-pregnant partner, Doina, at their home in Sevenoaks, Kent, when he suddenly fell ill.
One night he woke me up saying that he couldn't feel his legs. He could barely speak, Doina recounted to the Daily Mail. Alarmed by his condition, she immediately called for an ambulance.
A Fateful Misdiagnosis with Devastating Consequences
When paramedics arrived, they assessed Ion but reportedly dismissed his symptoms – which were consistent with a stroke – as signs of intoxication. They refused to take him to hospital despite Doina's desperate insistence that he had not been drinking. Trusting their professional advice, the 22-year-old expectant mother went back to bed, unaware this decision would leave her partner fighting for his life.
The next morning, she awoke to a horrifying scene: Ion was foaming at the mouth and completely unresponsive. I thought he was dead, she said. A second ambulance rushed him to hospital, but even then, doctors allegedly failed to take his condition seriously, initially treating him with vitamins and continuing to regard him as a drunk person.
A Critical Delay and a Family's Fight for Justice
Ion arrived at the hospital at 9.30am on September 23, but a crucial brain scan was not ordered until around 7pm. Tests finally revealed a blood clot in his brain, and he was taken for emergency surgery at 9.30pm. Although the operation was successful, the delay proved catastrophic. The damage had been done.
Doina says doctors later admitted the paramedics had been wrong, and confirmed that if surgery had been carried out just hours earlier, Ion would have walked out of hospital. Instead, he has been in a coma ever since, unable to move or speak, communicating only by blinking his eyes.
Now just weeks away from giving birth, Doina faces the prospect of motherhood alone. She has launched a GoFundMe page to help cover the costs of Ion's long-term rehabilitation and recovery, and plans to take legal action for medical negligence, stating that her family deserves justice. His loved ones cling to the hope that, with the right support, he may one day regain the ability to move, speak, and finally hold his baby.
Matthew Trainer, Chief Executive of 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 noted that Ion was given a head CT scan within 30 minutes of arriving at A&E due to a suspected head injury, which showed no abnormalities, and that various tests led to him 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.
