Woman ‘too young to be depressed’, fights for life
A 19-YEAR-OLD woman is in a critical condition in hospital after a medication overdose.
Cariad Jarrett’s family, from Cwmcarn, claim she was previously told she was “too young to have depression” by health professionals and was denied the help she needed for her mental health.
On November 1, Cariad, a carer, was rushed to the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, following the overdose where she remained in a coma in the intensive care unit for around a week. However, on the eighth day of her coma she took a turn for the worse.
She is now at the Royal Brompton Hospital in Chelsea receiving specialist heart and lung treatment not available at the Welsh hospital.
Cariad’s sister, Shannon Jarrett, 20, is staying in Kensington to be close to her sister along with their parents. She said: “Due to the amazing quality of care [Royal Gwent Hospital] provided, for the most part she remained in a stable condition.
“On November 8 we had a phone call saying we had to go to the hospital immediately because she took a turn for the worse and she was too ill to stay there.”
Shannon said a team from the Royal Brompton had to come to Wales to perform surgery, before taking her to London.
Cariad is currently on a machine which provides cardiac and respiratory support. It is not known how long she will need this machine and doctors are taking it day by day.
“We came down to London to be with her, her situation could change at any time,” said Shannon.
“It costs £800 a week to stay in Kensington to be with her and she could be on it for any length of time. If we were to go home, it would take us at least three hours to get to her if the hospital gave us a call about her condition. Here, it takes us 20 minutes to walk there.”
Shannon said: “We do not possibly have the funds to stay out here and be with her which breaks our heart. It’s essential we are nearby given the circumstances and severity of her condition as we can be called into her at any given second.”
Shannon added: “Her job was a carer and she made such a positive impact on people’s lives it was a shame to see hers be wasted almost and let down by so many people.”
The family spends time with Cariad when they can visit the hospital from 1pm to 8pm each day.
Cariad and Shannon’s father, Dean Jarrett, 45, said their current accommodation arrangements run out on November 16.
He said: “We’ve had an overwhelming amount of support from friends and family. My nephew drove us up because we have no access to a car here.
“My eldest brother put money in our account to help support us being here and my nephew helped pay for this room.
“But we are yet to find affordable accommodation once this one ends. If we were to stay at the hospital’s accommodation, we would need two double rooms..”
Dean added: “She was working long hours and had three car crashes this year and her insurance went through the roof. She struggled with mental health anyway, so with the accidents on top, it was too much for her.
“She tried to take her own life last year, but luckily she was found quite quickly. She tried to get mental help in various different places, but she had been shrugged off and wasn’t taken seriously.”
Shannon has set up a GoFundMe page for Cariad to help support their stay at London, which she described as a “very difficult and emotional time”.
■ For confidential support the Samaritans can be contacted for free around the clock 365 days a year on 116 123.