Desperate plea from family for money as British dad, 51, fights for life after falling while using gym during Turkish holiday, needs SECOND operation after brain surgery

The family of a British man have made a desperate appeal for money after he suffered a freak fall while using gym equipment in Turkey, leaving him fighting for his life.

Marlon McCormack, 51, suffered a brain haemorrhage and is currently in an induced coma while his family seeks donations through GoFundMe to urgently raise money to pay his medical bills at the hospital in Turkey.

His daughter, Renelle McCormack, 27, was taking family photos with her younger sister, her father and his girlfriend the night before and woke up last Thursday to the devastating news that her father was having a stroke.

He has since had to undergo surgery “because 50 percent of his brain is bleeding,” according to his daughter Renelle, and now needs a second operation.

She told MailOnline: ‘He went to sleep and hasn’t woken up since. Our whole lives were turned upside down overnight.”

The family have been asked to spend £24,000 for the first operation and £1,500 for each day Marlon has to stay in ICU because they have no travel insurance – and with the father-of-two now needing another operation, it hospital bills are piling up.

Marlon (left) said he fell in the gym while on holiday in Turkey before losing feeling in his body

“He has been in a coma for seven days and will have to undergo further brain surgery in a week, followed by four weeks of recovery in intensive care, which will cost a total of around £80,000,” Renelle said.

She added that the family were exploring medical repatriation, whether by plane or boat, to get Marlon back to Britain – which could set them back a further £40,000.

Despite almost £23,000 having already been raised, this only covers the first operation and not Marlon’s hospital stay, let alone the second operation and repatriation.

Renelle said: ‘Now we are back to square one (with the fundraising campaign) as we already have to pay the hospital £19,000 for his first brain operation.

“I heard (the hospital) won’t just let him die if we can’t afford it, but I don’t know if they want half upfront, but we have to raise the money.

“Whether it’s the money for him to fly home or the money for the operation, we’re going to have to come up with some money because the medical repatriation company doesn’t want to fly without cash upfront.”

In addition to the financial worries weighing on the family, Renelle said she also thought about what might happen if her father were to die.

‘My 16-year-old sister’s mother has already passed away. My father is all she has, so if he dies, my sister would be an orphan. She has no one, all she has left is me. So that would leave me in a position where I would be her caregiver. It’s a lot,” Renelle said.

Anna Ryan (R) said she raised the initial £3,000 payment for Marlon (CR)’s treatment, but the family are now crowdfunding for hospital support and are asking for tens of thousands

She added: ‘My father’s girlfriend is now in Turkey, alone, abroad, and her boyfriend is sleeping. So even though she’s with him, she’s alone.”

Marlon’s girlfriend, Anna Ryan, 41, was with the 51-year-old on the day he was rushed to hospital.

“Marlon got up early to go to the gym,” she said BirminghamLive a day after the freak accident. “He came back and said he fell while he was there.

“He fell asleep again and when he woke up he couldn’t stand; it looked like he had had a stroke. We called an ambulance and he was rushed to hospital.”

The forklift driver from Chelmsley Wood had planned a ‘last-minute’ getaway with his family and left for Turkey on April 24.

Anna said she was asleep the next morning when Marlon got up early to go to the gym.

Renelle McCormack, 27, took family photos with her younger sister, her father and his girlfriend the night before

When Marlon returned and was rushed to hospital, Anna was told that her fiancé’s treatment would continue without payment, but that the money would have to be found.

“Due to the language barrier, we thought it was a success, but they were not able to remove all the mass on his brain from the bleed and he remains in critical condition,” GoFundMe organizer Cherry Ryan wrote in April. 25.

She said Marlon was placed in an induced coma in intensive care while the family remained “by his side.”

She said the cost of the operation would be £24,000, plus £1,500 a day for care during four weeks of recovery.

They previously said the hospital had demanded £25,000 in advance for the treatment.

Anna said: ‘I’m being asked to pay a lot of money that I don’t have. They want £24,000 for surgery and then there is four weeks of recovery which we also have to fund. We don’t have that kind of money, I don’t know what to do.

‘Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. We need as much help as possible.’