A holiday to Turkey turned into a nightmare for a Washington family when a much-loved grandad was rushed to hospital after becoming seriously ill.
Samuel Major had just celebrated his 80th birthday before jetting off to the five-star Limak Lara Deluxe Hotel and Resort in Antalya on June 1 for a week's holiday with his daughter, niece and grandson.
But just before he was due to fly home, Samuel said he felt unwell and would spend the day resting. The former boxing coach at Fatfield and Washington Boys Club thought he has a chest infection as a result of his COPD, however, by the early hours of the morning on June 7 he became seriously unwell and asked for an ambulance.
The grandad-of-three was automatically taken to a private hospital called the Antalya Anadolu Hastanesi where he was diagnosed with pneumonia, sedated, and placed on a ventilator. But Samuel's already worried family faced another shock when they discovered that he did not have insurance meaning they face medical bills of £1,800 per day.
Daughter Nicola Randles said the family hope Samuel will be transferred to a state hospital with lower fees this week before being flown home to the UK for further treatment. In an effort to help pay for the medical bills and flight home, Nicola has set up a fundraising page in the hope of raising £25,000.
Self-employed hairdresser Nicola said: "We thought it was a heart attack and Covid at first but after speaking to a translator we've been told it's pneumonia. With his COPD his lungs are so bad that they have to keep him on a respirator until the lungs get better.
"We are getting limited information [but] his vital signs are improving and he is on 40% less oxygen."
The dad-of-three had been enjoying his week drinking and dancing in the sun with no signs of being unwell in the run-up to his diagnosis, his family said.
Now Samuel's daughter Samantha Major is due to fly home to the UK with the rest of the family on June 13 after using her savings to stay on in Turkey with her dad. This means the family will solely be relying on updates on Samuel's condition from hospital translators and their Jet2 travel rep.
"My message to people would be to make sure they get insurance," Nicola said.
"Dad has been so irresponsible by not getting [insurance] and I feel terrible for not checking to make sure he had it.
"I know a lot of people will say, 'you think he would have got insurance,' but at the end of the day, my dad doesn't deserve [what's happened to him]."
Appealing for donations, Nicola added: "This is anybody's worst nightmare.
"We are seriously worried about him. It's just a desperate situation and I don't know where to turn.
"We just need some help."
To donate visit: https://gofund.me/bda39e01
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