Redditch student who 'died for 25 minutes' backs Stand Up To Cancer

Laura Balazs, aged 22, is turning up the heat on cancer this October as she prepares to serve up a special Hungarian fundraising feast for her family to support life-saving research as part of the Sunday Brunch for Stand Up To Cancer.

The Batchley resident spent two weeks in a coma and two months in hospital after the near-death incident at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in January 2019.

When she woke from the coma she had lost most of her memories, spoke only her native Hungarian, and had to learn to walk again.

She was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) in October 2018 after suffering months of persistent coughing and weight loss. Scans showed tumours in her chest that were pressing on her lungs and causing her symptoms.

Laura began a course of chemotherapy at Royal Worcester Hospital – spending her 21st having treatment - but instead of shrinking, her tumours started to grow.

Crisis point came on New Year’s Eve 2018 when Laura became so breathless her parents wouldn’t let her out to celebrate with friends.

On New Year’s Day 2019 they were so alarmed at her breathing they rushed her to A&E at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

There Laura was admitted to a ward and given scans which showed her chemotherapy had caused fluid to build up around her heart, stopping her breathing.

She said: “The doctors were running up to the ward to drain the fluid off my chest, but it was too late – I went into cardiac arrest.

“In fact, I died that day. My heart stopped for 25 minutes and my parents were called back to the hospital to find the nurses trying to manually restart my heart while simultaneously draining the fluid.

“They eventually restarted my heart with a defibrillator after 25 minutes of trying. It must have been so awful for my mum and dad to see that.”

Laura was put into a medically induced coma to protect her brain and body. Her parents were warned that, if she survived, she may have suffered brain damage.

Two weeks later Laura was woken out of her coma on intensive care. Her recent memories had been wiped, she did not remember that she had cancer, and had no idea what had happened.

“At first I would only speak Hungarian, my childhood language. I expected my brother, who was 14, to be about 7, and I didn’t remember anything about my illness or even events from recent years,” she said.

Laura’s family talked constantly to her, reminding her of events, showing her pictures and videos and trying to rebuild her memories. She was in a wheelchair and needed intensive physiotherapy to help her walk and be independent again.

Gradually Laura rebuilt her life, recovering most of her memories and learning to do everything again. In February 2019 she was put onto a different chemotherapy regime which was successful in shrinking her tumours.

In June 2019 Laura had a stem cell transplant to reboot her immune system. Scans since then have shown that the tumours in Laura’s chest have shrunk to a tiny size and are no longer active. She has been declared in remission and has just started a course in theatrical make-up at South and City College Birmingham.

Laura says her close encounter with death has given her a more positive outlook on life and made her determined to raise awareness of cancer and raise funds for essential research.

She added: “When my memories came back I remembered watching Stand Up To Cancer in hospital with my sisters when I was first ill. The comedy made us laugh so much, and the cancer stories made us cry. It made me realise how important research is and how much fundraising matters.

“I’m really looking forward to making Sunday Brunch for my family. I’ll be cooking up a feast of Stuffed Cabbages (Töltött Káposzta) which is a traditional Hungarian dish that we usually eat on special occasions.

“It’s a great way to join Stand Up To Cancer and do our bit for research. I hope other people will read my story and be inspired to join us by holding their own Sunday Brunch.”