A teenage girl whose seizures were dismissed as anxiety has been left with brain damage at just 16 and remains unable to speak two years later. Rubie Boyton, now 18, suffered a cardiac arrest in a park, leaving her brain starved of oxygen for 31 minutes.
The youngster from Ashford, Kent, had experienced two seizures prior to this, but her mother Kim Tucker says doctors attributed them to anxiety and carried out no further tests. It later emerged she had a rare heart rhythm disorder called catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT), which affects just one in 10,000 people.
Two years after the incident, Rubie remains unable to communicate or move, and can only consume blended foods. Kim says the NHS has provided virtually no support, with physiotherapy offered just once a month, forcing the family to fund their own treatments privately.
Kim said: 'I feel sadness because Rubie didn't deserve this. The NHS therapy side of things has been pretty much non-existent, which has been really difficult to handle because I just thought, why is everyone giving up on her?'
CPVT is believed to be inherited from a parent through a faulty gene and can trigger an abnormally rapid heartbeat when brought on by physical or emotional stress. Rubie's condition was triggered in May 2024 while she was out with friends in Bridgefield Park. After Rubie collapsed, a friend performed CPR until she was airlifted to King's College Hospital in London and placed in an induced coma.
Since coming round, Rubie has been unable to communicate and suffers from dystonia. Nevertheless, Kim says she has shown remarkable progress, regaining some reflexes in her hand and attempting to speak. The family have raised funds for a £50,000 extension to their home, but continue to seek further support for treatments not funded by the NHS.
