A British man has been left fighting for his life after falling ill with deadly disease sepsis while celebrating his wedding anniversary abroad.
Daniel Bowman, 32, was struck down with the condition, which killed his auntie in 2005, a week into a fortnight break in Bulgaria with his wife of three years Kelly, 35.
He is due to be flown home on Thursday hooked up to a life support machine after his family fund-raised to pay for a private medical repatriation Air ambulance.
They have been told insurers won't pay out until they get Daniel's medical records, even though his family so he has no underlying medical conditions.
Distraught Kelly, a mental health nurse, spent their wedding anniversary reading out her card to him as he lay in intensive care in a hospital in the country.
Doctors at Doncaster Royal Infirmary were in discussions with medics in Bulgaria about the care Daniel, who works in traffic management, needs when he returns home.
His auntie Sam Bowman, 50, said: "He has to have a tracheotomy. He'll be on a life machine on the flight home, just basically keeping him stable.
"The only hope we've got now is that his body fights this sepsis. It's too late for his pancreas and his kidneys."
Daniel and Kelly, of Doncaster, South Yorks., were staying at the Grand Hotel at Sunny Beach on Bulgaria's Black sea coast when he started experiencing stomach pains and vomiting blood last Monday.
He went to a local clinic which put him on an IV drip, but he went to main hospital in the resort where he was put on life support in an induced coma.
And when surgeons began to operate, his pancreas failed, causing further complications as infection leaked into his blood stream.
His distraught mum Michele - whose sister Rachel died of sepsis in 2005 at just 28 - rushed out to the country on Thursday to be by his side.
Sam added: "For us to know we've lost one member of the family to sepsis, we were expecting it again.
"For my mum and dad it's like it's coming back to haunt them. Nobody expects to bury their children, let alone their grandchildren.
"Daniel and Kelly have been together 10 years, they flew out to celebrate their third wedding anniversary. She's sat in ICU reading out their anniversary cards.
"It's heart-breaking. When they went to remove the infection, his pancreas failed and the infection had gone into his bloodstream which has caused his kidneys to fail.
"They told us four days ago there's nothing they could, there's no hope.
"But Daniel being Daniel, he's still fighting and they said last night for the first time there's a bit of hope."
Sam said the family had been "blown away" by people's generosity after kind-hearted strangers donated to their fundraising page.
But Sam, who also took out a personal loan to help pay for the flight home, said they face an anxious wait for insurance company Admiral to pay up.
She said: "We just want him home, we could wait for the insurance, but he could die in that time.
"We're desperate. We're just a working-class family, we can't afford it.
"It's not just the flight, it's the medical bills, you're looking at thousands for intensive care unit.
"And Kelly and Michele have spent about £1,000 in taxis back and to to the hospital already.
"Daniel's self-employed and he won't be getting paid for a long time. The response has been amazing, somebody pushed £100 through my door, I have no idea who.
"If the insurance pays out, everyone will get their money back, we just need as much help as we can get.
"People are just doing all they can to help, that shows what amazing friends and family we have and how well he's thought of.
"Everybody loves him, he's such a great guy. He's really lovely and funny. He's a clown really, he makes everybody laugh so much.
"He's the head of our family, he's our rock and a cool head in a crisis. We could do with him right now really."
Speaking from Bulgaria, Kelly said: "There are no words that I can use right now to describe how I feel.
"This is like the worst nightmare and I am never ever waking up from it.
"It was our wedding anniversary on September 7 and I went to see Daniel in intensive care, I held his hand, read his anniversary card to him and sang our wedding song.
"I just hope he could hear me. This pain is indescribable. He is my best friend, my soulmate and the best husband in the world.
"He has always believed in me and I will never ever stop believing in him. He is an amazing husband and the man of an amazing family.
"The support from family, friends and people I have never even met before has been priceless and I am forever grateful. But now I just need my husband."
Daniel's insurers Admiral said it has requested more information to help inform its decision regarding the cover it can provide, but this has not delayed his treatment.
A spokesman for the firm said: "We appreciate this is distressing time for Mr Bowman and his family and can assure them we are treating it as a matter of urgency.
"We have been in regular contact with our medical emergency provider who have been liaising with the medical facility in Bulgaria and Mr Bowman's wife.
"He remains very unwell and under medical supervision and we are treating the case with the utmost urgency.
"We have requested further information in order to help us make a decision regarding the cover we can provide, however at no point has the treatment he has had or will continue to receive been delayed due to this.
"Whilst we are doing this, it is important to state that we continue to monitor Mr Bowman's situation and are liaising with the treating hospital to ensure the level of care is satisfactory.
"In all cases where medically recommended we will only return customers home when it is medically safe to do so to avoid any risks of complications whilst being transported.
"We will continue to keep the family informed on progress, but we cannot comment any further at this stage."
A GoFundMe page has raised more than £10,000 of a £34,000 target to help bring Daniel home.
