‘I have been left with a brain injury after my drink was spiked and now struggle to walk and talk’

Simone White collapsed on the street and was rushed to hospital after the suspected drink spiking incident in Bristol

Transcript

00:00 So this is me four days after I believe my drink was spiked.

00:11 The doctors don't know what was in the spike.

00:18 It has meant that my brain has had a defensive reaction and effectively shut down temporarily

00:34 whilst I was under the influence of drugs that I did not knowingly take.

00:44 I don't ever do drugs.

00:48 Anybody that knows me well enough knows I don't take them.

00:54 My recovery will be long.

00:59 I'm not sure whether I will ever make a full recovery.

01:06 The doctors are still looking into my scans to see whether it is actual brain damage or

01:17 whether it's something wrong with, as they put it, the software in my brain not working

01:25 properly, not the hardware being damaged.

01:31 My point, if anything above all of this, is I never thought this would happen to me.

01:40 I'm 43.

01:42 I was out with a group of friends with family involved and we were in a safe environment

01:55 or so I thought.

01:59 I have very little recollection of what happened that night, only that I was in hospital for

02:07 a very long time having seizures.

02:12 I'm sorry that this is taking so long.

02:16 As you can tell, it's very hard work for me to talk.

02:21 I'm still in here.

02:24 I just take longer to do everything.

02:28 Please, please heed this as a warning.

02:37 People that spike drinks don't care who you are, what age you are.

02:46 It's a real danger.

02:49 A lot of people I know have been spiked, luckily with not results like this, but this has not

02:59 only physically harmed me, it's also emotionally harmed me.

03:05 My life is going to be very different now.

03:10 It's okay.

03:11 I'll manage.

03:12 I will live with it.

03:16 But just please do not accept drinks from anyone unless you see them being bought at

03:24 the bar and you are given them directly by the bar staff.

03:32 I have learnt my lesson the hard way.

03:37 Just please be safe so this doesn't happen to you.

03:48 [BLANK_AUDIO]