Less than a year ago Linda Perez was a vivacious teenager who dreamed of becoming a nurse.
But an operation in August 2013 to enhance the 19 year old’s breasts from a 32A to a 32C left her in a coma for two months. mHer heart stopped during the procedure and her brain was starved of oxygen and damaged.
Now barely able to walk or talk, she has wasted away to 4st 8lbs.
Linda – who has a four-year-old son, Daniel – returned home in November 2013 and now needs 24-hour nursing.
Linda’s mother, Mariela Diaz, 39, is now her full-time carer, and is praying she will recover.
She says: “I’m heartbroken this has happened to my beautiful daughter. The operation has left her like a baby. I have to dress and feed her, and she can only say the odd word. She’s desperate to walk but she can’t do it without help. I wish I could take her pain away. Her son Daniel doesn’t understand what’s happening. We tell him Mummy’s poorly
and trying to get better.
“Doctors don’t know what the future holds. She may improve over the next two years, but she’ll never be the same again.”
Linda grew up in Homestead, Florida, with Mariela, her stepfather Fernando, 34, and sister Barbara, 14.
Mariela says: “Linda was a kind, caring girl. She was in a relationship and fell pregnant at 14 with Daniel. We were shocked at first, but we got used to the idea. She was a great mum. I helped look after him, she got good grades at school and went to college at 18 to study nursing.”
Although Linda was bubbly and confident, she was insecure about her body. Mariela explains: “She hated having small boobs and would often wear padded bras. At 17 she said she wanted a boob job. Breastfeeding Daniel had left her boobs deflated – she was an A cup and was really down about it. I told her not to worry because she’s so petite, but she was adamant.”
At 18, Linda contacted The Coral Gables Cosmetic Center in Miami after seeing an advert on TV, and her boyfriend gave her money for an op.
Mariela says: “Linda said the clinic was popular and had good conditions. I was still worried as it was a major operation. But she told me it was her dream. I’ll never forgive myself for not being able to stop her.”
On 12 August, Linda had the surgery. Mariela says: “In the morning I asked her not to go ahead, but she told me to stop being negative.” Mariela was on her way to pick her up afterwards when she got a call telling her something was wrong.
She explains: “A nurse told me she’d suffered complications during the two-hour operation and wasn’t waking from the anaesthetic. I felt sick with fear.
“Fernando and I rushed to the hospital where she’d been transferred and I was horrified by what I saw. Linda’s eyes were rolling back in her head and her body was hooked up to machines. I kept screaming: ‘What have they done to my daughter?’”
Linda was taken to intensive care and Mariela learned her heart had stopped during the procedure, causing brain damage.
She says: “Linda was perfectly healthy before the operation, now she was lying in a coma. I was angry, I wanted answers. I was scared she was going to die.”
Linda remained in a coma for two months while Mariela kept vigil by her bedside.
She says: “It was terrible to see my once-bubbly daughter lying in bed wasting away. I stayed with her every day and slept in the waiting room at night. I stroked her hand and told her how much I loved her. I begged her to get better for Daniel’s sake. We didn’t let him visit as we thought it would be too upsetting.”
Heartbreakingly, doctors told Mariela her daughter had suffered such severe brain damage it was unlikely she would make a full recovery. She says: “I told them that wasn’t possible. I refused to lose hope.”
After two months, Linda slowly began to come out of the coma. Mariela says: “One day she blinked her eyes open and mumbled ‘Mummy.’ I cried with relief. She began breathing on her own and came off her ventilator. Even though she was so frail, I was just happy she was awake.”
Linda was allowed home in November 2013 and Mariela was given full-time help from a nurse as well as a wheelchair and hospital bed for Linda.
She explains: “It’s like caring for a baby. I feed Linda milk and puréed food. I shower her, dress her and help her go to the toilet. She’s not even strong enough to cuddle Daniel. It breaks my heart to see her losing her independence.
“Some days she tries to reach out for things or signals to the floor. I try to help her walk but she just says ‘Never’ and starts crying again. It tears me apart to think of how much she must be suffering. Daniel cries and asks: ‘Why can’t Mummy carry me?’ We have to tell him she’s ill – it’s heartbreaking.”
Mariela is now determined to sue the clinic. She says: “We’re taking the clinic to court because I don’t want another mother and child to go through this pain.”
Dr Jacob Freiman, who carried out the surgery, claimed Linda hid medical details from him, including a reaction to the anaesthetic during the birth of her son, which would have affected the procedure.
But Mariela says Linda’s medical records show she had no health issues: “She didn’t have any problems when she had Daniel. His claims disgust me.”
The case is currently being investigated and it has since emerged the anaesthetist involved in the operation had previously been jailed for illegally selling painkillers online.
Sadly, doctors don’t know what the outlook is for Linda or how much she understands.
Mariela says: “All I can hope is that she can learn to walk and talk and have some quality of life again. She doesn’t have a feeding tube now and she goes to therapy three times a week for help with her speech. She often says ‘Never’ and I know she regrets having the operation done.
“I just want Linda to get better so she can be the happy, bubbly girl I know.”
Translation by: Sofiia Sierra