Jordan Robinson: Australian traveling in Croatia suffers spinal injury from jumping into sea
Jordan Robinson: Australian traveling in Croatia suffers spinal injury from jumping into sea
- Australian suffers spinal cord injury in Croatia
- Jordan Robinson is injured after a swim in the sea
- Aussies gather to raise $50,000 for families
A carefree swim in the sea has turned a European ‘trip of a lifetime’ into a nightmare for a young Australian woman.
Jordan Robinson, who has been traveling with her best friend Tiana Sluka, jumped into the pristine blue waters off Dubrovnik on July 21, but the 20-year-old from Victoria said she “knew it in an instant; something had ‘gone horribly wrong’.
After rescuers pulled her out of the water, she was rushed to hospital, where doctors discovered she had fractured a lower spine in her spine containing bone fragments dangerously compressing the spinal cord.
Due to the potentially catastrophic severity of the injury, Ms. Robinson was immediately transferred from Dubrovnik to a hospital in Split, Croatia’s second-largest city, for emergency surgery, leaving Ms. Sluka in Dubrovnik.
Jordan Robinson, a 20-year-old from Victoria, suffered potentially catastrophic spinal injuries when she jumped into the sea off the coast of Croatia
The operation to attach the bone fragments to her spine was declared successful and Mrs. Robinson took her first steps since the July 24 accident.
Ms Sluka’s mother was able to fly out of Australia to be with the two women, but Ms Robinson’s mother was unfortunately unable to make the trip due to “passport issues and financial constraints”.
a GoFundMe page was set up by the families of the two women to fly Ms. Robinson’s mother, Marg, over to be by her side and to cover medical expenses and the potential cost of flying home plus other running costs.
“We are waiting for the next steps and liaising between surgeons and insurance to begin the next journey – bringing her (Jordan) home,” the fundraiser says.
“Medical costs continue to rise (and it) remains uncertain how much will be covered by their travel insurance.”
“Your donation will help ease the financial burden so that Jordan receives the best care possible.”
The page states that if Ms. Robinson is able to fly home before her mother can travel to Croatia, the targeted airfare money will be used for “rehabilitation, adjustments to her home to facilitate her (Mrs. Robinson’s) recovery and to support her during her time. from work’.
Travel buddies Tiana Sluka (pictured left) and Ms Robinson had their ‘trip of a lifetime’ shattered in a devastating way
If Jordan is unable to fly home in the near future, the funds “will continue to be used for all of her medical and rehabilitation costs while she remains in Europe, and for the eventual journey back home once she is ready to travel.”
As of Tuesday night, the total raised was just $1300 away from the page’s goal of $50,000.
In an update, the page says: “Jordan is extremely grateful and overwhelmed by the support she has received so far.
Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. We will keep you posted as soon as we know more.”