A family is battling to raise £30,000 after their son collapsed while celebrating his 28th birthday in Benidorm. Jack Stone remains unresponsive in a Spanish hospital, where he has been for 33 days since experiencing a mysterious seizure in his hotel room.
His loved ones have been informed that the life-support machines sustaining him may be turned off. Despite being fit and healthy, Jack, who works as a pottery worker and has Type 1 diabetes, is now fighting for his life.
Sue Stone, Jack’s anxious mother, is determined to bring him back home to Stoke-on-Trent, StokeLive reports. She revealed that some of his possessions including his passport have gone missing and faces a nervous wait to find out if travel insurance will cover the cost of repatriating Jack.
The funds raised from their ongoing campaign will likely be used to cover travel expenses for the family, medical bills, and the transportation of Jack back home. Sue said: “He was in his bedroom and he fell to the floor. He was just fitting there. He was taken to hospital and was put on life support.
“They weren’t sure what had happened to him. They said he could come home but we are waiting to see if the insurance will cover him. It can be up to £30,000. We just don’t know when.
“We speak to him every day. We talk to him and play music to him but he is not responding to any stimuli. He is just existing now. I don’t know if he will ever come home.
“I feel awful. I wouldn’t want this on anybody. I can’t tell anybody what it is like. To see my child like that, it is terrible.”
She has been in touch with the British embassy in Spain to help get Jack home to Longton and added: “We had to sort his paperwork as his passport, phone and wallet were missing too. We had to sort out all the documentation.
“The embassy came to the hospital and told us that we might have to say our goodbyes as they may have to switch him off. But they spoke to the head doctor who said they couldn’t switch him off. We thought we were going to lose him. There are not a lot of English-speaking doctors here. I don’t know what is happening next.
“It is just an awful situation. It is like being in a dream. Our goal is to get him back to Britain now. It is a case of waiting for the insurance to get back to us. We have had lots and lots of support from people. I don’t think we would have got through it without the support of people.”
Speaking about Jack she said: “He’s just a typical 28-year-old. He likes going out with his mates. He likes music and he always enjoys having a laugh. He only came away for three nights.”
A fundraiser set up by a family friend, Jackie Egerton, from Longton, has raised £3,200 in the space of a few days. Jackie, a nursing assistant at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, said: “I am desperately trying to raise funds so his family can continue to go out there and sit with him in the hope that they are there when he wakes up. Any donation however big or small will help his family immensely.
“All funds raised will go towards help with medical bills and the cost of flying back and forth to the hospital. I cannot begin to imagine what his parents are going through”
To donate to their fundraiser, click here.
