The mum of a young holidaymaker who suddenly collapsed in Benidorm while enjoying a birthday trip is desperately trying to bring him home. Jack Stone remains ‘unresponsive’ in a Spanish hospital more than a month after he mysteriously suffered a fit in his hotel room on April 21.
The 28-year-old’s loved ones have been told the machines keeping him alive may soon have to be turned off. But his determined mum, Sue Stone, is hoping to raise £30,000 to bring him home to Stoke-on-Trent.
The 64-year-old told StokeonTrentLive: "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.”
Sue initially flew out to be by her son’s bedside at the Marina Biaxa hospital on April 24 when she discovered that his possessions, including his passport, had gone missing. She says she is also facing a battle for information about his condition due to a language barrier with medical staff.
She explained: "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." Sue, who has since returned home, said her son was usually ‘fit and healthy’ despite having Type 1 Diabetes.
She added: "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 over £2,900 in the space of a few days. Jackie, a nursing assistant at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, said: "I have been friends with the family for quite a few years now. We used to go abroad together.
"I just felt like I needed to help. He's a lovely lad, he turned 28 while he was out there. He keeps opening his eyes but he does not recognise anyone when he is awake. I just want him home for his family.
"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.
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