26/04/2023
My story:
๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ข:
Iโm jess and I am married with three kids and two dogs. We live in Mandurah, WA and Iโm just about to turn 38 years old.
I met Hayley about 3 years ago when she began working with my son as a support worker. My relationship with Hayley I would describe as family. She is such a bright, energetic soul, that spreads happiness every where. She works 4/5 different jobs and is always on the go but never seems flustered or overwhelmed. She is 18 years younger than me, so when I managed to get us both last minute concert tickets to a band we both love, I became her concert mum. Neither of us go out much and we were both excited to go to see a band we love, have a few drinks and dance.
The concert was held at a venue called RedHill auditorium. Itโs an amazing outdoor theatre 40 minutes out of Perth, in hill top bushland. We had organised to catch a bus from a pub in Perth to and from the venue. We had three margaritas together over 2.5 hours before the bus ride out.
We got there and lined up, it took a while to get in as things were running late but once we were in we were pumped! First of course was to find the toilets, then we made a plan that if we were to get separated we would meet outside the first aid hut, as it was easy to find and remember. We then purchased some merchandise and found food and drink. We shared a bottle of bubbles and ate a potato stick before the concert started. Hayley was in high spirits hugging me and giggling.
We got another bottle of bubbles and headed down to the show. We were in the middle of the crowd when the band came on and dancing and singing. Around the third song a group of four men roughly in their mid 20โs stormed through and began hitting and kicking and pushing us. I was trying to get Hayley and a few other girls to move away, as we were all frightened. We moved away from the boys and made friends with another young girl who was on her own and went back to having fun. About 5mins after this incident Hayley started complaining she had lost a little clip on pouch from her bag. I kept telling her not to worry. She then started saying how she was going to kill whoever took it. Being the calm person I talked about this concerned me a lot. We had both drunk the same amount and her mood was so out of character for her I decided I would stop drinking.
Hayley had the champagne bottle and I was trying to get it off her and get her to come sit on the steps when she accidentally hit someone with it. I grabbed the bottle which was still half full and just threw it on the ground to get it off of her. I tried to explain to this person it was an accident and I was trying to get my friend out of the crowd, when him and his partner became extremely abusive and physically aggressive towards us. Hayley began also getting aggressive and trying to push forward in the crowd and yelling back at the couple. The random girl we met and I were trying to get her away from the couple, when suddenly her eyes rolled back and she collapsed. We caught her and carried her out of the crowd to a paramedic. The paramedic immediately asked where Hayley had got her water bottle from. I said that I was with her all night and she hadnโt purchased any water. I felt so bad as I hadnโt even noticed she had it. I asked the girl helping me if she had given Hayley the water and she said no she had not. There was a quarter of cloudy water left in this bottle. We donโt know where it came from or how much Hayley herself consumed.
While two paramedics carried Hayley up the hill the young girl helping asked if she could come to the first aid tent. I thanked her for her help and for caring but said it was best to have as little people around so the paramedics could do their job.
Once in the first aid hut hayley gained consciousness but it still wasnโt right. She would go from drowsy to aggressive to hysterically crying. The volunteer paramedics with her kept insisting it was likely a combination of alcohol and anxiety and that I should get her to go for some fresh air. I refused. This was not alcohol or anxiety. Hayley had been sitting in a chair talking to one of the paramedics and myself, not making sense. She couldnโt tell us her name or where she was. We trying to understand her when she suddenly slumped down and appeared to stop breathing. I was holding her head up and her mouth open. She was then put on a stretcher and a team came in. She was put on oxygen but kept semi waking up and ripping it off. They opened her eyes and tried to get her to track a light, one of her pupils was enlarged and the other was tiny. At this moment I began crying as I felt that she was honestly going to die.
An ambulance was called and when they arrived they began questioning me on wether Hayley and I did fantasy. I honestly had no idea what they were talking about and asked if they meant cos-play? It was then we were finally taken seriously that her drink had been spiked. During the commotion of getting her up the hill to first aid the water bottle was lost.
The ambulance ride there was horrific. She was still going from aggressive, to hysterical, to unconscious. Until she fully lost consciousness. She was shivering as she was so cold. The paramedic was squeezing her shoulders so hard to wake her up that she had already started showing bruising. They explained to me this was classic symptoms of a drug called GHB and they had been seeing an alarming rise in this the past month.
When we got to the hospital Hayley had started to wake up and seem a bit more herself, she knew her name again. Unfortunately we were treated like party girls again, until 4 more girls in the same state from the same concert were brought in. When asked if she could see clearly, the only thing she could make out was some green on a poster. It was writing but she couldnโt tell that.
Her mum soon arrived and my husband came to pick me up as we were still a long way from home.
Hayley spent the night in hospital and needed a week off work to recover. We both felt guilty, sad and upset about the night. Me for not being a good concert mum and her for ruining the night. At the end of the day, there will be more concerts but I only have one Hayley. Thatโs all I cared about.
We both decided that we wanted to do something to make this experience count for something. So S.O.S Stamp Out Spiking was born. Hopefully next week we can share our idea with you that will be a constant reminder that if in doubt, tip it out.
Jess.
