Get Linda home & help with medical expense

Hi, my name is Elisha and I'm the granddaughter of Linda Bateson (Ashall). This has all been kept as quiet as possible on social media until now as we've been well and truly fighting to get my nan home behind closed doors as she has fallen seriously ill while in Turkey. It has now passed this and we are coming to the point we have no choice but to ask for help. We're not a family who usually takes charity as anyone who knows my auntie Deb (Debbie Kenrick) knows she has done volunteer charity work for most of her life for other causes.

The full story isn't a short one and it hasn't been the smoothest of roads. On 10th June this year, my nan, myself and her partner were heading back to the hotel after my birthday meal. My nan has a mobility scooter as she suffers from being mobile, she has had the mobility scooter for years now. Upon arriving at the hotel the gates she usually entered through were locked shut, so she decided to drive up the slight ramp this was the only accessible entrance Nan could enter as the one she had been using was meant to be used by staff only. This was a stoned ramp that was not smooth and her wheel got caught which ultimately led to her falling backwards off her scooter, landing on her back and hitting her head on the road. She instantly was left with a massive lump on the back of her head and could not physically move herself. There was no one around to help her, I frantically went searching for someone who would be strong enough to help me lift her as the men on the front desk were trying to pull her up by just holding her hands and this was leaving her in agony. It was then I went and woke my auntie (Debbie Kenrick) who was suffering from her own health and decided earlier that night she was having an early night. My auntie knew exactly what to do, how to support her and we managed to get her up and into her room. The men on the desk accused her of having too much to drink - this wasn't the case, my nan does not drink. The next day we had enquired about an accident book as there was no documentation of this incident - we were informed there wasn't one and there was nothing they could do to report it.

Fast forward to 12th June, my Nan had taken a bad turn and a doctors were called. They examined her and concluded that she needed to be at the hospital to have scans straight away. My auntie travelled with her in the ambulance. She was immediately taken in for scans where she had an MRI and CT. It came back she had 6 compress fractures in her back, 3 at the top and 3 at the bottom. My auntie Deb was meant to be travelling home with me on 13th June but because we were told Nan was having to stay in the hospital I told my auntie Deb to stay with Nan as she needed her more than I did - this was incredibly hard on us all and left my Nan sick with worry and stressed about me despite being in hospital herself as she knows this was a big thing for me as I suffer with PTSD from the Manchester bombing. On the day I left, I was also asked by the men at the front desk if my nan had died. I was devastated and disgusted.

Nan and my auntie Deb spent 3 days in the hospital before being transferred to another 3 hours away in Antalya. Nan had to travel alone in the ambulance transfer and it cost the equivalent of £300 for my Auntie Deb to follow behind her in a taxi. Nan was being treated for her back, they were looking into a back brace and giving her pain relief. The insurance had been contacted the day she was initially admitted to the hospital. We were still waiting for the insurance to send a guarantee of payment over to the hospital when they started asking for my nan's medical history from her doctors in the U.K. The translator informed my auntie that this was the normal process. However, this was completely frustrating as at this point the hospital confirmed she would be fit to fly home as long as she had a back brace, accompanied on the flight and they had the guarantee of payment.

While still waiting for this, we received a shock on the 18th of June as doctors came into my nan and told her she needed gallbladder surgery and she was scheduled to have it on the next day at 10:30 am. This was rather confusing as nothing was mentioned about anything up with her gallbladder. She was told there could be serious complications due to her age, weight and circumstances. Her partner travelled up to the hospital paying another £300 in a taxi to be with her before she went in for surgery. Come the next morning no one had come for my Nan for surgery and Auntie Deb chased this up to only find out that they had told the wrong patient - Nan did not need gallbladder surgery! It was then decided my Nan's partner would be better off heading home for his wellbeing as there was no room in the hospital for him and financially it wasn't realistic. He also had to travel home alone worried about his partner's health and state.

21st June my nans insurance contacted my auntie Deb asking for details to arrange a flight for my nan to come home. The details were sent and questions were then asked for her mobility, these were again all sent back immediately.

24th June came and we still had no guarantee of payment from Insurance this ultimately led my Nan to get fed up and frustrated - she was hallucinating and acting completely out of character. It was on this day she took an extremely scary turn as she went into respiratory distress and was rushed to the intensive care unit. This is when my Auntie Deb was told to prepare for the worst - she was alone in the hospital with no one to physically console her. We had to rely on video calls and cry to each other heartbroken on the phone completely distraught about what could happen next. The rest of the family was then told and informed that Nan was not doing well at all.

Nan was ultimately put into a medically induced coma and was intubated. My auntie Deb was scared of being alone, she suffers from multiple health conditions including diabetes type 1, lupus, fibromyalgia and a hole in her stomach that currently needs dressing changed daily due to having an abscess removed. She was running out of medication and this is when her partner travelled to her on his own with her medication as well as the hope he could support her and my nan.

The insurance eventually got back in touch and requested that my auntie Deb would sign a disclaimer stating we could be liable for part of the claim due to undisclosed conditions - at this point we were aware Nan was being treated for high blood pressure which was apparently an undisclosed condition. However, this was listed as hypertension which my nan's partner has admitted he didn't know hypertension was the same as high blood pressure. We still however, signed this disclaimer. The hospital needed the guarantee of payment to keep treating my Nan. Insurance then eventually sent over the guarantee of payment to the Turkey hospital. This again gave us a bit of relief as we were then no longer worried about how the hospital would treat Nan without this.

Doctors confirmed Nan has pneumonia in her left lung. It was then disclosed they had taken her off the blood pressure medication as the doctors told my auntie that her blood pressure remained fine. As we thought she was heading in the right direction, her temperature was then rising which was a major concern in her current state and it was then we were made aware there was also fungus in her right lung. Antibiotics were changed accordingly.

My nan remained sedated and ventilated until today (13th July) when she was finally taken fully off the ventilator and put on V pack - pressurised oxygen. She is still in a critical state.

It is also worth noting that the insurance had informed us that Nan could not fly as a hospital we had listed as an option in the U.K. stated they would be unwilling to take her in whilst in a coma and ventilated. They suggested a tracheostomy but Turkish doctors refused this as they believe there would be serious complications and they had repatriated patients in my nans state before without needing to do this procedure. She remains unfit to fly because of this.

This whole process has been completely confusing and overwhelming. Nan is only allowed to be visited twice a day for 10 minutes only - she has more or less had to fight this completely alone surrounded by doctors she does not understand. The translators are hard to get hold of and sometimes we have to go 2 days without any updates at all from the doctors on the process and what the plans are next. To be perfectly honest, the doctors are great but the language barrier has really become frustrating which is why we I've been chasing the insurance daily before and after work, on my lunch breaks, as well as contacting the British embassy - They were unable to give me much information due to my Nan being unable to consent to allow them to talk to me on her behalf. My auntie was not able to do this due to data issues on her phone - relying on internet. As I was ringing everyday; my auntie Deb was emailing everyday.

Finally, to explain why we are here and why we need your help! The insurance has informed us of the following:

Regarding your mom’s case, we need to make you aware a past medical history check was carried out and a number of undeclared conditions were found. This information is currently being reviewed by the underwriters.

Even though a coverage decision has not been made yet, we need to make you aware there is a possibility that you may be liable for a proportion of the costs if a split coverage is applied or all the costs if the coverage is declined however a decision has not been made as we require further information to be reviewed before the underwriters can come to a decision. We will update the underwriters with your concerns to make them aware of your situation. Please note we may not have an update on the coverage decision until Monday or Tuesday.

Our medical officer has requested the latest medical report from the treating doctor, and we are currently waiting for the update to confirm if Mrs Bateson is stable for transport, as soon as we receive this update, we will update you.

We are still unaware of what the exact undisclosed conditions are but right now we are having to prepare to pay out of pocket to get nan home. We do not have medical expense money and as you can imagine nans medical bill is increasing in expense by the minute.

What we thought was that Nan would be fully covered, she had paid for travel insurance and she had disclosed her conditions herself and her partner must have thought necessary. Obviously, we now know this isn't going to be the case. We have already paid the excess fee - this was paid the day they asked in cash, as well as paying out of pocket for medicines and creams the doctors have requested we purchase ourselves.

We can provide more pictures, proof of documents from the doctors, and emails to and from the insurance.

It would mean the world to us if you could share this around and help to get my nan home! We are emotionally and physically exhausted. Heartbroken everyday scared of what is going to be thrown at us.

We have not received 100% confirmation on the exact amount we will be liable, but we are preparing to get the ball rolling as she needs to be home and surrounded by her complete family network. She has been in Turkey coming on her 6th week, what was meant to be a lovely family holiday turned into a nightmare.

We want to thank our family and friends and those willing to help in any form it means a lot! She will come home.

We'd like to hear your advice as we're thankful for any support. We are not sure where we stand right now.