A mum says she could be left disabled for life after she suffered horrific injuries when her dune buggy fell off a cliff in Turkey. Rebekka Kelly was holidaying in Antalya when she broke her back and pelvis, and sustained permanent nerve damage in the terrifying crash.
The 30-year-old had booked the £75, two-hour buggy tour with a TUI rep for her and eldest son Sonny, 10, half way through their summer getaway. However, steering problems caused Rebekka to plunge down the side of 164ft cliff.
She was immediately rushed to a private hospital where she stayed for three weeks receiving emergency treatment. During this time, she underwent two operations on her spine and had to have her lungs drained, the Liverpool Echo reports.
Rebekka, from Birkenhead, has also fractured six of her vertebrae, fractured her pelvis, had internal bleeding and permanent nerve damage in her lower back. The support worker is now being treated in a hospital in Liverpool, but there is a chance she could be permanently disabled due to her injuries.
Doctors have told Rebekka that she may be permanently disabled for the rest of her life, and may also develop arthritis. She will also need around-the-clock care from her family and may have to live with her brother Rocky, as she can't do simple things such as walking and bending down.
She said: "I'm going to be really cautious and I'm going to have to walk with a walking frame for some time. The extent of my injuries will not be known until I've had X-Rays over here and the specialists have looked at it. It's just a waiting game.
"I've got a lot of family and friends who are willing to help me. I'm a support worker so I'm going to have to be off work for a long time and I'm going to need help with the kids because I'm not going to be able to bend down to the oven or to the washing machine."
Rebekka's medical bills totalled around £44,000 and she has said that the extent of TUI’s help was to make a small donation to a GoFundMe page. A TUI spokesperson said: "We’re really sorry to hear about Ms Kelly’s experience following her unfortunate accident in Turkey.
"Our resort team provided immediate support to Ms Kelly after the accident and our reps have been visiting her daily in hospital. We can confirm that following the accident, a full investigation of this excursion was conducted, and no faults were found with the equipment.
"We always encourage customers to check that they have adequate valid travel insurance to cover them for their entire holiday. Our teams will continue to support Ms Kelly as much as possible and we’ll be providing her with a contribution which can go towards her medical costs."
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