A grandmother is fighting for her life in a hospital in Croatia after falling unconscious on a flight taking her and her family on holiday.
Aimee Keogh, 37, was travelling with her husband, children and her mum Kay Wilson, 65, from Radcliffe on Monday, July 29 on a flight from Manchester to Egypt for a family holiday.
However, a few hours into the flight it was discovered that Kay was actually unconscious, not asleep as the family originally thought as Aimee couldn’t wake her mum up and knew something was wrong.
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Aimee said: “I managed to speak to a stewardess on the plane who asked if there were any medical people on the plane and a midwife and a nurse came over and put her on oxygen.
“The captain made the decision to land in the closest place which was Croatia and when we landed paramedics came on and took mum straight away.”
Kay is currently in intensive care on full life support after it was discovered she had kidney failure and then developed aspiration pneumonia.
Aimee said that her mum did have an underlying kidney problem, however she was stable, and her GP said that she was fit to fly.
Aimee said: “She had sepsis last year which killed one of her kidneys, but she still has one fully functioning kidney, so she was stable.
“Obviously she wasn’t perfect, but she was well enough to travel.”
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As the family have had to make an emergency stop in Croatia, they are currently living out of Airbnb’s and most accommodation is fully booked up as it is peak holiday season.
Aimee said that they have already spent €2,000 on accommodation and her husband and children will be flying home next Wednesday to try and cut costs down.
A friend of the family has set up a Go Fund Me to help pay for accommodation so Aimee can stay with her mum whilst she is still critical.
To donate to the fundraiser, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-for-accommodation-for-amiees-family?
It is also to help with other costs.
As the family were expecting to be flying to an all inclusive holiday in Egypt, these extra costs have come as a surprise.
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Aimee said: “It’s just been horrific. I can only visit my mum from 2pm to 3pm, and any updates have to be within those hours.
“On Monday night she deteriorated when she developed aspiration pneumonia, I didn’t find out until Tuesday afternoon."
Communication with doctors has proven difficult due to the language barrier and many doctors only being able to speak limited English meaning Aimee can’t ask many questions or have a detailed discussion on her mum’s health.
She added: “I just don’t want to leave her I need to be with my mum.
“We’re sending family home to reduce costs and I’ll be here on my own until whenever my dad gets here.
“I don’t know how long I’m going to be here for, it’s really hard at the moment.”
Kay is currently in a hospital in the La Pad region of Dubrovnik, and Aimee said the cheapest accommodation they can find is at least £1,200 for a week which is still nearby the hospital.
She added she is in touch with her insurance company as well.
The Go Fund Me has currently raised £1,890 of a £3,000 target.
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