British nurse suffers heart attack, falls into coma in Hungary

A British nurse, the fiancée of a Hungarian musician, has suffered a heart attack in Pécs. The incident happened on Easter Monday and the woman has been in a coma since then.

Ákos Hasznos, bassist, gave a concert in a nightclub in Pécs. The musician’s fiancée, Kerstie Metcalf, a British national, suddenly collapsed in the crowd, metropol.hu writes.

Kerstie suffered a heart attack in Pécs

51-year-old Kerstie Metcalf and her fiancé travelled to Hungary on Good Friday. They came to visit the man’s family in Pécs. On Easter Monday, after an enjoyable family weekend, the man gave a concert at a nightclub in the town. During the performance, Kerstie fell ill and collapsed in the crowd. Her heart had stopped.

The woman was resuscitated and taken to a nearby hospital. “She has been in the hospital for the last 12 days in a ‘coma-like state’ after her brain was starved of oxygen,” walesonline.co.uk reports.

She’s disabled herself but she remained working during the pandemic to save lives

A nurse in England, her job wanted to exempt her from her work during the COVID pandemic because of her specific underlying condition. However, Kerstie refused to stay at home. She said that at a time like this, she could not stand by and let others work for her, and that it was her duty to help.

The woman had a heart attack at the concert and had to be resuscitated on the spot by the paramedics. The resulting complications led to an epileptic seizure. After successful resuscitation, she was taken to the Pécs clinic where she was put into an induced coma.

It took a lot of money to take her home

Her family would have to pay GBP 30 000 to fly her home and put her in the care of the NHS, where she worked as a surgical nurse for 30 years. Her son Sam Metcalf said: “We just want her home and safe, surrounded by all of us that love her.” “Doctors keep her under anaesthesia to protect her brain. They believe she has suffered irreversible damage,” the boy told Metropol.

The hospital in Pécs immediately contacted the Southend University Hospital in England, where the woman and her family lives. The family contacted the British Foreign Ministry, where they were advised to speak to the British Embassy in Hungary. “At the embassy, they said there was nothing they could do. They cannot help bring her home unless she is dead,” Sam said.

With the help of donaters, she is finally recovering at home

The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise enough money as soon as possible to help Kerstie recover at home. The money raised from donations will cover Kerstie’s medical bills in Hungary, as well as her repatriation by air ambulance.

Kerstie has since arrived safely in the UK, where her loved ones are eagerly awaiting her and are confident that she will recover.

Click HERE and HERE to see photos of Kerstie.

Featured image: illustration