On the last day of Susan’s vacation in Fiji, horror occurred. Now, she and child-murderer survivor Greta are left to reconcile the trauma of that horrible experience. What began as a peaceful retreat quickly became a shocking situation. Susan’s choice to order a pina colada cocktail on the Warwick Resort swim-up bar became an emergency with life-threatening consequences. Just hours after she had taken her first two sips, Patti fell into a coma. Yet this intersection was the start of a tragic arc in her life.
That terrifying incident happened last December, and Susan still remembers the events in the minutes and moments before she unexpectedly passed out. She and her daughter had been having a wonderful vacation until that fateful Saturday afternoon when everything changed. Susan has a history of stroke. Her health took a major hit when she experienced several grand mal seizures soon after the administering of the cocktail. Medical specialists subsequently told Velez that her heart was suffering from a condition known as “stress cardiomyopathy,” as a result of trauma inflicted on her brain.
Hospitalization and Initial Recovery
Given her terrifying response, they immediately transported Susan to a nearby hospital. As a medically induced coma, she stayed for three days. Intubated and fighting for her life, she suffered a complete collapse of her heart function to only 25 percent. At the same time, fluid started building around her heart.
Inwardly, I could sense that I was beginning to slip, Susan recounted, reflecting on the harrowing experience. “I was going downhill very fast. I was shaking violently, and I could see other medical staff were busy with other patients, and I was like, ‘don’t forget about me,’ and that’s all I remember.
A timeline as long and winding as Susan’s recovery has been as well. Even after five months of intensive rehabilitation, she still suffers the consequences of the hit and run. The 30+ CT and MR scans done following her hospitalization showed additional inflammation surrounding her frontal lobe, signaling the serious nature of her injury.
“I’ve spent the last five months trying to recover,” – Susan
Doubts Over the Cocktail
Given her traumatic ordeal, it’s not surprising that in the aftermath of this trauma, Susan is adamant that the cocktail she drank was spiked. She is committed to the contention that she and many other guests experienced the same symptoms. They all pulled from the same expensive pool bar.
What the seven victims had in common—which was the most important detail, that we were all in the pool together—was never shown on air. We drank our first piña colada at the same time,” she said. This warranted suspicion has caused her to wonder about how the hotel responded to the incident.
For more than a decade, Susan has pursued answers and accountability. She says the Warwick Hotel hasn’t spoken with her directly at all since that day. She voiced her frustration, asking, “Why haven’t you reached out to the victims? Or offered any sort of apology?” This breakdown in communication has only increased her anxiety at a time when stress is at an all-time high.
“We’re frustrated because we’ve got no real evidence of what happened to us, that’s the most frustrating thing, and we feel that’s been blatantly done, a cover-up.” – Susan
Ongoing Impact and Advocacy
The cost of Susan’s ordeal hasn’t been limited to her physical health. Her professional life has suffered too. Her husband, an accounts manager, has not been able to work since the attack. Because of the frequent seizures she still experiences, her driver’s license has been revoked. This further cuts into her level of independence.
From the early days of her own recovery, Susan has been tireless in her efforts to fight for change. She calls on hospitality providers to commit to greater transparency to stop this from happening in the future.
“I don’t want this to happen to any future guest. It was so traumatizing,” she asserted. Her determination stems from a desire to ensure no one else endures what she experienced during her vacation in Fiji.
It was thanks to Susan and countless other victims who spoke out that forced government officials to take action. They promised visitors that robust safety protocols can be found throughout Fiji. Viliame Gavoka stated, “We wish to assure everyone that Fiji remains a safe and welcoming destination for tourists.” Hundreds others so far refuse to believe until deeper investigations clear the details about what made them sick.
“We wish to reiterate that initial testings did not reveal any presence of illicit substances,” – [source not specified]
