It was just another day in paradise. Mark and Brenda Dixon had been enjoying their retirement in Turkey when the unthinkable happened – leaving their family stuck in a never-ending nightmare.
The couple, from Ashton-under-Lyne, had only lived in the country for nine months when Mark suddenly became unwell. He had been at his home in Icmeler when he lost his appetite and felt extremely lethargic.
The 60-year-old had been in bed for several hours until he got up to use the bathroom. Brenda was making dinner when she heard him shout out for an ambulance – prompting her to quickly dial emergency services.
Paramedics arrived at the home and rushed Mark to a Turkish hospital. Tragically, that was the last time Brenda saw her husband awake.
On arrival at hospital, Mark was immediately placed into a coma as his condition began to deteriorate. Doctors told Brenda, 70, they thought he was suffering from renal failure, a condition where the kidneys stop working.
But despite having no pre-existing health conditions, Mark had actually gone into cardiac arrest three times. Due to the severity of his condition, he was transferred to a hospital in Aydin three hours away and put into intensive care.
After three agonising days, doctors attempted to reduce Mark's sedation to wake him up. Sadly, he never came round. Mark, a retired factory supervisor, has now been in a coma for almost three months and doctors believe he has brain damage.
In a tragic twist of events, his life insurance won’t cover his costs and medical bills are increasing by the day. Mark’s family claim they have been told Islamic law will not allow him to be taken off life support – leaving them in a horrific state of limbo.
“I know people live with brain damage,” his stepdaughter, Nicola Jackson, said as she became emotional. “But he wouldn’t be awake. There would be no quality of life to him, no quality of life for my mum. I don’t understand the logic. It baffles me.
“This could go on for years. I know it should be anything to do with the money, but it’ll end up killing my mum with the stress. They did some brain scans and they said he isn’t brain dead but there’s only very small brain activity.
“They thought he might wake up, but as time goes on, there is less chance of him going back to his normal state. We asked him if they expect him to wake up and they said no. And if he did wake up, he would still be in that state.
“He would be in bed. He wouldn’t be able to breathe on his own, eat on his own or go to the bathroom on his own. It’s just awful. I’ve been back and forth to Turkey as much as I can.
“They’ve tried to take him off the ventilator several times and he can breathe for about 20 minutes then they have to put him back on. He goes into panic. Mark wouldn’t want to live – he wouldn’t want to put his family and my mum through that. He wouldn’t even know us.”
Nicola estimates Mark’s medical bills, including hopefully bringing him back to the UK, will exceed £80,000. Unfortunately, Mark’s insurance policy will not cover his care as the claim was made within 12 months of the policy starting.
Nicola, who lives in Audenshaw, say her family are desperate to bring Manchester United fan Mark home as a last desperate attempt to save his life. “I’m not saying they haven’t looked after him in Turkey because the care has been really good,” she continued.
“But if we could bring him back to the UK, then at least he’s back in the UK. We have asked the question about moving him either to nearer to their home or back to the UK, but the consultants have said it’s too risky. We just have to take it day by day.”
Family set up a Gofundme appeal to help them fund some of Mark's ongoing medical. bills. To donate, follow the link by clicking here.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: “We have provided support to the family of a British man who was hospitalised in Turkey.”
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