The family of a popular West Belfast woman say they are desperate to get her back home after she suffered a stroke while attending a family wedding in Portugal.
Marti Gorman, 48, took ill the day after the ceremony in the Algarve when she suffered a severe bleed on the brain.
The mum-of-two was rushed to ICU as her family, both those still in Faro and back home in Belfast, held their breath.
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Speaking to Belfast Live, Marti's cousin Tomas said he was first alerted to the shocking news in an early morning call just hours after he had returned home.
"I came home last Wednesday after the wedding due to work commitments but I got a phone call at 6am the following morning from my sister who was still over there," he said.
"I immediately thought the worst and that it was to do with one of my parents. I was shocked when she told me Marti had suffered a stroke because she doesn't even drink but we've since learned that it may be hereditary.
"I went straight round to tell my aunt and uncle, Marti's parents. She is their only child so it wasn't easy breaking the news to them at that hour of the morning.
"I consoled them and then arranged their flights over to Faro to see her in hospital along with Marti's two sons because at that stage, the doctor's prognosis was really bleak.
"Marti had slipped into unconsciousness and two massive bleeds were found on her brain so at that point we genuinely were waiting for the phone call to say she hadn't made it."
But against all the odds, Marti, who works for the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, has since fought her way through the trauma and woken up. Her prognosis has also improved and now her family say they need to get her home.
Efforts are currently underway to bring Marti back to Northern Ireland so she can continue her recovery closer to family and friends.
However £35,000 is needed to make that happen and her family are now fundraising to bring Marti safely home from hospital in Portugal.
"Marti is a fighter and a very outgoing person so thankfully her speech and motor functions haven't been affected," Tomas explained.
"She was able to talk to her mum and dad on the phone before they arrived to see her. She is out of ICU and slowly improving but there's still blood on her brain that needs to drain away.
"Marti needs to continue her treatment in a Belfast hospital and to be close to her sons and parents, who are quite elderly and not really able to stay long in Portugal due to their own health and the heat.
"The only way this can safely happen is on an air ambulance with a medical team accompanying her, which is considerably expensive and needs to be self-financed.
"Marti is a much-loved mother, daughter, colleague and friend whose bright positivity and humour are needed by all who love her.
"We are urgently asking people to please donate whatever they can to help us secure an air ambulance to bring her home and allow her to recover in hospital with her family at her side."
To donate to the family's fundraising appeal please click here.
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