An active member of the alternative theories community has claimed that her daughter's death was the result of gross irresponsibility on the part of medical workers, according to an investigation in the UK.
Paloma Shemirani, 23, collapsed on July 19 last year and was taken to the Royal Sussex Hospital in Brighton, where she died five days later after refusing treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Her mother, Kay “Kate” Shemirani, who has popularized alternative views on the COVID-19 pandemic on social media, said her daughter's condition had “dramatically worsened” following medical intervention.
The woman involved in her daughter's “unconventional treatment” first contacted a friend and then called emergency services after Paloma collapsed, a hearing at Kent and Medway Coroner's Court heard.
Speaking in a prepared statement Wednesday, she accused investigators of “intending to distract attention” from the real circumstances of her daughter's death.
“Any attempt to place blame on me is false. The responsibility should be borne by the specialists who, without the patient's approval, used drugs that could cause heart damage without confirming the diagnosis,” Shemirani said.
The woman claims her daughter's death was the result of a “chain of medical manipulations” which she says amounted to “manslaughter”.
She insists that during her December 2023 hospitalization, Paloma was given medication without her consent and that medical staff exerted “psychological pressure” on her.
“I had reasonable doubts about the correctness of the doctors’ actions,” Shemirani explained during the hearing.
Twin brother Gabriel Shemirani said Paloma initially considered chemotherapy but changed her mind under the influence of her parents.
Shemirani was stripped of her nursing licence in 2021, despite qualifying in the 1980s, after an NMC committee ruled she had spread false information about COVID-19 that posed a “serious risk to the public”.
According to the case file, after being hospitalized in December 2023, Paloma began a course of alternative therapy that included coffee enemas, a strict diet, and vegetable juices.
“Paloma consciously chose a therapy that was consistent with her beliefs and the results of her personal research,” Shemirani emphasized.
She added that her daughter was “not coerced” and that her physical condition “gradually improved” thanks to the methods chosen.
“Her intention to recover in her own way is confirmed by the written statement to the High Court, read out at the hearing,” the woman said.
On the day she lost consciousness, the girl was seeing osteopath Nick Gossett, who on Wednesday described her as a “serious patient in the late stages of the disease” and confirmed the recommendation to seek medical help.
The mother denied these words, stating: “On the morning of July 19, Paloma felt fine.
“She appeared healthy, had a normal complexion… showed emotional activity, which contradicts the osteopath's description.”
After fainting at home, the woman first called a friend, who initiated the call for an ambulance while performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
In a recording of the emergency call presented to the court, Shemirani can be heard shouting to the dispatcher: “She's dying” before paramedics arrive.
According to the investigation materials, the woman also told the operator about “difficulty in lying on her stomach due to a growth in her throat.”
In his testimony, Shemirani claims that after paramedics administered adrenaline, “the situation rapidly worsened,” leading to “complete circulatory failure” in his daughter.
“I immediately realized that their actions were the cause of the deterioration,” she said.
The woman insists: “After medical intervention, her condition rapidly worsened.”
Dr Anderson explained that when the patient's heart stopped, a standard adult dose of adrenaline was used, which is acceptable even for the patient's low body weight.
Paloma was transferred to a ventilator at the Royal Sussex Hospital, where she was declared brain dead on 24 July 2024, in accordance with national protocols.
Shemirani challenged the haste of the decision, pointing to differences between British and American criteria for confirming brain death, and demanded an MRI scan.
Intensivist Dr Peter Anderson said: “The risk of uncontrolled death was assessed as extremely high.”
The medic noted that according to the emergency call, the patient's blood oxygen level was “a critical 35-36%,” which could have led to irreversible brain damage before help arrived.
Shemirani said: “We are convinced that the investigation is trying to distort the key circumstances of the death.”
“This is an attempt to pervert justice and hide the true causes of the tragedy,” she added.
The trial continues.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
