British holidaymaker is on life support in Turkey after suffering seizure minutes before flight home
British mother of three, 30, is in a coma on a ventilator after she suffered an epileptic fit minutes before boarding a plane home from Turkey – and her family has to pay £1,800 a day medical bills
- Melissa Kinsella, 30, was due to fly back to the UK on May 15 after a family holiday
- She is now bedridden in the hospital in Antalya, Turkey with swelling in her brain
A British holidaymaker is on a ventilator in Turkey after a seizure minutes before she was due to board her flight home.
Melissa Kinsella, 30, was due to fly back to the UK on May 15 after a family holiday when she collapsed and suffered a seizure at the airport that caused her heart to give out.
The mother of three is now in hospital in Antalya, Turkey, because she has swelling in her brain, is on a ventilator and can’t breathe on her own.
She also teeters on the brink of heart failure, but doctors have said they can’t treat her until the swelling in her brain has subsided.
Melissa’s best friend of eight years, Rebecca Gath, 35, has said this is “the most heartbreaking situation” and that her family is distraught.
“Her family is beside themselves… Her mom and dad are with her in Turkey, but are only allowed to stay at her bedside for 10-15 minutes a day,” Rebecca said.
“Her partner Jay is at home with the kids and trying to be strong for them.
“As her friend, this is the most heartbreaking situation.”
Melissa Kinsella is photographed in a Turkish hospital after a violent attack minutes before boarding her return flight to the UK
Rebecca Gath (left), a friend of Kinsella (right), said the stricken holidaymaker’s family were ‘besides themselves’
“She’s such a bubbly, funny, and popular person,” Rebecca said of Melissa.
“Knowing she is fighting for her life breaks mine and all her friends and family hearts.”
Melissa’s family do not know if Melissa has decided to purchase travel insurance prior to her trip, and cannot ask her because she is in a coma, nor do they have access to her personal correspondence.
Rebecca has set up a Go Fund Me page to pay for Melissa’s treatment, with hospital bills quickly rising to £1800 a day for intensive care.
If Melissa needs an air ambulance to fly back to her home in Leasowe, Wirral, her family will pay a further £42,000 if the flight is not covered by insurance.
Rebecca has also claimed that hospital authorities said Melissa would not be able to leave the hospital if and when she is healthy again until the bills are paid.
Rebecca posted on the fundraising page: ‘We need to raise a minimum of £45k as her treatment costs £1800 a day.
“We have received 42,000 requests for an air ambulance as soon as she is well enough to be transferred.
“I want to thank everyone on behalf of Melissa’s family as we need to raise as much as we can.”