A woman who went to Kenya is now stuck there after she suffered from liver failure which has racked up some costly medical bills – something her insurance won’t be able to cover.
77-year-old British woman Lee Flint travelled to Kenya with her husband Jack on 16 September to conduct charity work and celebrate Jack’s diagnosis of being cancer free.
However, after a few weeks there Lee was found unresponsive in her bed and rushed to the Mombasa Intensive Care Unit, with doctors saying she had suffered grade four kidney and liver failure and that her organs were shutting down.
The woman remains in a critical condition as she has suffered from internal bleeding and blood poisoning, but her family are unable to claim health insurance cover for the cost of her £80,000 medical bills as Lee did not declare any pre-existing conditions.
77-year-old Lee Flint and her husband Jack flew out to Kenya in September, but while there she suffered from organ failure (Kennedy News and Media)
Lee’s son Jamie, 52, said that his mum had gone for a blood test and scan before she journeyed to Kenya but didn’t tell people about it, and he thinks she might have done it to avoid worrying her husband.
When Jack filled in the holiday insurance forms for the couple’s trip to Kenya he didn’t write anything down about the tests because he didn’t know about them, which has voided the insurance.
Jamie, from Addlestone, Surrey, said: “After my dad had finished his chemotherapy and my mum was his main carer which took a lot out of her, they inevitably made a mistake on the insurance form.
“A few months before that my mum had been to the doctor’s. My mum didn’t want to stress my dad out, she kept it to herself. But in the meantime she was becoming poorly and we didn’t realise.
“My dad was filling out the insurance form on his laptop and made a mistake and that’s why it’s invalid. It’s a living nightmare really.”
Lee’s son said that he feels ‘completely helpless’ as his mum is stuck in Kenya and he’s back in England, and the family have no idea whether or not the 77-year-old knew what her test results were as she is currently unable to speak.
Lee’s holiday insurance won’t cover her expenses as she went for some tests before travelling and didn’t declare the results to anyone (Kennedy News and Media)
Lee and Jack have been carrying out charity work in Watamu, Kenya for over three decades and would often stay there for months at a time. On this latest trip, they had travelled over with 62kg of clothes and reading glasses to distribute to schools and orphanages.
Jamie has since set up a GoFundMe, which you can donate to here, with the aim of raising enough money to get his mum back to the UK where she can continue to receive treatment.
He’s halfway to his goal and said: “Just be absolutely thorough when you do something like this, go over and over it again if you’re elderly or have any past history of being poorly.
“You’ve got to do it and you do feel a bit of anger during these companies, they are what they are, you have to do these things correctly. I wouldn’t want this to happen to anyone else. All I want is for my mum to come home but the hospital bills are extortionately high.
“I am absolutely humbled by the people, I’m not great with social media but I feel completely humbled and blessed, it makes me almost cry when I think about it.”Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and Media
Topics: Travel, Health, GoFundMe, UK News, World News
Joe Harker
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Published 11:00 26 Nov 2024 GMT
Family of British teen facing 20 years in prison after having sex with girl on holiday issue warning as GoFundMe hits £27,000
The family of Marcus Fakana thanked everyone for their donations
The family of a British teenager who is facing the prospect of up to 20 years in prison in Dubai have thanked people for donating to a GoFundMe set up to help him.
18-year-old Marcus Fakana went on holiday to Dubai with his family in August, and while over there he struck up a romance with a 17-year-old fellow Brit.
The girl kept this relationship secret from her parents but after they returned to the UK her mother found out and alerted the authorities in Dubai, who went to Marcus’ hotel room and arrested him.
He then spent three days in jail unable to contact anyone and on 9 December is set to be put on trial for breaking the law.
Dubai very recently changed their laws to allow tourists visiting the country to have sex outside marriage, but the minimum age in the Middle Eastern country is 18.
A GoFundMe for Marcus Fakana has raised a significant sum to help his family. (Family Handout)
While the relationship between Marcus and the 17-year-old fellow Brit, who has since turned 18 in the meantime, would have been legal back home in the UK it has landed the Tottenham lad in trouble as he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison in Dubai.
Marcus is stuck in Dubai living in a series of Airbnbs, which is costly for his family who are also having to find money to fund his legal defence, and while he awaits trial his family have returned to the UK so they can work and support him.
To help with this they set up a GoFundMe, which you can see here, in the hopes of raising at least £20,000 and at time of writing they have received over £27,000 in just a few days.
In an update on the fundraiser they said: “Thank you so much for all your well wishes and your donations.
“This will go a long way in the fight to get Marcus back home. Marcus and his family cannot believe how generous you have all been and are super grateful to you all.”
The legitimate GoFundMe has raised plenty of money, though the family warned people about fake pages being set up. (GoFundMe)
However, there has also been a warning about a fake GoFundMe page that is being circulated online which would attempt to siphon donations away from helping Marcus.
The family also spoke out on the impact this has had on the 18-year-old, who in under two weeks is expected to begin his trial with the next two decades of his life on the line.
“What was meant to be a happy time has turned into a nightmare for him, our family, and our friends,” the family explained.
“This has happened as a result of someone trying to misuse UAE law against him. He is being charged with a crime that could lead to imprisonment for up to 20 years.
Radha Stirling, CEO of human rights group Detained in Dubai, said that Marcus didn’t know the fellow Brit was ‘a few months younger’ than him when they met on holiday.Featured Image Credit: Family handout/Getty Stock Images
Topics: UK News, World News, Travel
Joe Harker
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Published 13:51 2 Dec 2024 GMT
Son ‘will never be the same again’ after texting mum a picture of his snack before medical emergency
George had a severe allergic reaction
A mum has spoken out about the harrowing moment she got a text from her son saying he was eating a snack, which he then discovered he was allergic to.
Back in September, George Cadman-Ithell texted his mum Louise Cadman a picture of a bag of ‘saucissons secs’ salami he was snacking on, telling her ‘these are nice’.
Just a few minutes later though, the 25-year-old texted his mum again, saying ‘f**k, they contain walnuts’, having not spotted the words ‘aux noix’ on the packaging – which is French for ‘with nuts’.
His mum told him to call an ambulance and then made several attempts to get her son to tell her he was alright, in which she received no response.
Louise told the Sunday Times that George had been diagnosed with an allergy to tree nuts – which includes walnuts – when he was five, and is still in a rehabilitative unit in hospital.
George ran home to get his EpiPen after realising he’d eaten something he was allergic to (GoFundMe)
A GoFundMe set up to raise money for George’s recovery, which you can donate to here, said that the 25-year-old went through anaphylaxis and went into cardiac arrest, with his husband performing CPR on him until paramedics arrived.
He was rushed to hospital and his family said he was in an ‘unconscious but stable state’ at the time they set up the GoFundMe.
His mum said he’d had allergic reactions to nuts about 15 times in the past, mostly caused by eating unfamiliar food on holiday, but not needed to use his EpiPen before as he was able to treat the reactions with antihistamine tablets.
Now she’s hoping that others won’t have to go through the same experience, saying: “It’s just destroyed us, I can’t bear the thought of this happening to another family.
“He did his best to avoid nuts and if he was out in restaurants, he would always declare it.
“But, equally, I think he thought, ‘Oh well if they give me something by mistake I’m just gonna be a bit sick’, and it was never more than that.”
His family are doing their best to support him as he is in a vegetative state in hospital (Facebook)
Louise told the Sunday Times that George can open his eyes and breathe independently, but said doctors told her he is unlikely to recover, with them telling her ‘his maximum life expectancy is three years if he remains in a vegetative state’.
She said she believed that in the time she was trying to get her son to confirm he was alright, he was running home to get his EpiPen. When she drove round to his home the mum arrived to see her son receiving treatment from paramedics.
Spending a lot of time by her son’s bedside, Louise said her son ‘can definitely hear’.
“If he’s asleep, for example, and Joe comes in and says hello, George immediately opens his eyes,” she explained.
The family are now raising money that would help pay for adjustments to life, as they said in the GoFundMe they have ‘every hope George will one day leave hospital’.Featured Image Credit: Facebook / GoFundMe
Topics: Health, UK News, Food And Drink, GoFundMe
Joe Harker
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Published 15:47 19 Jun 2024 GMT+1
British man suffered one of worst deaths possible after getting ‘stuck in cave forever’ in peak district
Oscar Hackett Neil Moss never emerged from the famous cave system in Derbyshire
If you somehow still need to hear another cautionary tale to warn you about the dangers involved with caving, the story of Oscar Hackett Neil Moss will certainly do the trick.
The Brit is said to have suffered one of the worse deaths imaginable after his pursuit to try and go where no one had gone before when fatally wrong, and left him trapped inside Peak Cavern forever.
Cave permanently sealed after man suffered the ‘worst death imaginable’
Credit: YouTube/@justsubscribeme
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The Oxford undergraduate, who was a keen explorer and sportsman, was just 20-years-old when he headed inside the famous cave system in Castleton, Derbyshire, on 22 March, 1959.
Moss – referred to as Neil by his nearest and dearest – joined a group of fellow spelunking enthusiasts from the British Speleological Association on a fateful adventure deep underground, which he would never return from.
The young lad was accompanied by seven other cavers who were all keen to try and venture into an extremely narrow passage located inside Stalagmite Chamber which had been discovered just two weeks earlier.
After reaching the chamber – which was situated some 1,000ft (300m) below the surface – it was decided that Moss would be the first to head inside and hopefully make history as the first person to squeeze into the vertical shaft.
Sadly, the philosophy student is remembered for a much more devastating reason instead.
Neil Moss never emerged from the famous cave system in Derbyshire. (David Webb/James Lovelock collection)
Standing at 6ft tall, Moss was a large bloke – but he was also slim.
Before his expedition, four other cavers had already assessed the area and had noted that the passage was 40ft deep – and that there was a corkscrew twist in the middle of it which would be difficult to navigate.
Although the exact circumstances of the incident couldn’t be explicitly confirmed, it is believed that the 20-year-old came across a boulder which was blocking his path and that he attempted to move it out of his way.
But this would prove to be a fatal error – as the boulder is said to have obstructed ropes and ladders sent down by the group to get him back up.
At some point, Moss managed to tie himself to a cable, but he was too heavy for the team to lift him.
His fellow cavers persisted in their efforts to free the thrill seeker, however, the ropes they used continuously snapped.
He became jammed inside the narrow passageway, which quickly became polluted with carbon dioxide (YouTube/@submerged-yt)
Moss is said to have moved his body into a position which made it even more difficult to retrieve him from just below the corkscrew section of the passage, which caused him to become ‘sandwiched in an elliptical slit only eighteen inches wide’.
He reportedly shouted up to his companions: “I say, I’m stuck, I can’t budge an inch.”
But the worst was still yet to come – as because Moss’ body was jammed inside the narrow passage, he was blocking the air flow inside of it, meaning the atmosphere was quickly becoming overwhelmed by carbon dioxide from his own respiration.
He became increasingly disorientated due to the lack of oxygen, before eventually completely losing consciousness – and his fellow cavers weren’t far behind him.
The seven others were now also suffering the same problem and three of them also passed out while they were waiting for a rescue team to arrive.
Despite a huge rescue mission, the 20-year-old could not be saved. (David Webb/James Lovelock collection)
A number of experienced cavers who were small enough to fit inside the tunnel tried to assist in the mission to free Moss, but explained they were being ‘driven back by foul air’ and struggled to get close to him.
Following the failure of the final rescue attempt, the Brit was declared dead on the morning of 24 March, 1959, by an RAF doctor as he never regained consciousness – despite the fact medics could not physically see his body.
The student’s devastated father, Eric, had spent 48 hours diligently waiting for news on his son’s fate at the entrance of the cave and urged rescuers to leave his son to rest inside of it so that no other lives were put at risk.
The entrance to the lower shaft was sealed with loose rocks from the chamber, while an inscription in dedication to Moss was later added nearby – and now, this section of Peak Cavern is known as Moss Chamber, instead of Stalagmite Chamber.
RIP, Oscar Hackett Neil Moss.Featured Image Credit: David Webb/James Lovelock collection/The Print Collector/Getty Images
Topics: UK News, News, Health, Environment
Olivia Burke
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Updated 07:41 22 May 2024 GMT+1Published 07:30 22 May 2024 GMT+1
British man who died after severe turbulence on flight named as Geoff Kitchen
Tributes are pouring in for the Brit grandad, 73, with his loved ones describing him as a ‘gentleman’
Tributes have been pouring in for the 73-year-old Brit passenger who passed away on a Singapore Airlines flight which encountered severe turbulence.
Geoffrey Kitchen has been named as the passenger who passed away onboard the Boeing 777-300ER on Tuesday (21 May).
The father-of-two, who is said to have suffered from heart problems, is suspected to have had a heart attack after chaos erupted in the skies around 10 hours into the 13-hour journey from London to Singapore.
Passengers have described how flight SQ321 – which was carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew members – suddenly experienced a ‘dramatic drop’ while flying over Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Basin at 37,000ft.
Geoffrey Kitchen has been named as the passenger who’d passed away on the Singapore Airlines flight (Geoffrey Kitchen)
Student Dzafran Azmir, 28, said: “Everyone seated and not wearing seatbelt was launched immediately into the ceiling.
“Some people hit their heads on the baggage cabins overhead and dented it, they hit the places where lights and masks are and broke straight through it.”
Chilling images from inside the cabin of the Boeing have given the world an insight into what went on, with the snaps showing how the interior of the plane was seriously damaged by the turbulence.
Flight tracking data also shows that the Boeing was cruising at 37,000ft (11,280m) and had dropped by a whopping 6,000ft (1,830m) in the space of around three minutes when the turbulence hit.
Singapore Airlines said pilots made an emergency landing in Bangkok, Thailand, and arrived at the Suvarnabhumi Airport at 3.45pm local time on Tuesday (21 May), which is 9.45am UK time.
Several people were left seriously injured in wake of the ordeal, while dozens more were also wounded.
Tragically, Geoffrey – who was reportedly heading on a ‘last big holiday‘ with his wife Linda, who was rushed to hospital following the incident – passed away on the plane.
Shocking pictures from inside the cabin show the extent of the damage (ViralPress)
The grandad, from Thornbury, Gloucestershire, was about to embark on the trip of a lifetime with his other half and was set to explore destinations including Singapore, Indonesia, and Australia.
His cousin Stephen Kitchen told The Independent that his family were ‘shocked’ by Geoffrey’s sudden passing, while explaining that the couple had both been ‘looking forward to the holiday’.
“They are travellers, they do quite a lot of these things, quite adventurous,” he added. “It was sort of going to be their last big holiday.”
Geoffrey has been remembered as an ‘esteemed colleague and friend’ by the local theatre club he dedicated 35-years of his life to, The Thornbury Musical Theatre Group, which he was appointed director of in 2020.
A statement from the group said: “It is with a heavy heart that we learn of the devastating news of the passing of our esteemed colleague and friend.
“Geoff was always a gentleman with the utmost honesty and integrity and always did what was right for the group.
A fleet of ambulances were waiting on the tarmac in Bangkok to treat the injured (X/@tinchok555)
“His commitment to TMTG was unquestionable and he has served the group and the local community of Thornbury for over 35 years,” it continued.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife and the family at this difficult time.”
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said it was supporting the family of the passenger, and was in contact with local authorities.
The head of Singapore Airlines, Goh Choon Phong, offered his ‘deepest condolences’ to Geoffrey’s family and apologised to passengers for the ‘traumatic experience’ they had on flight SQ321.
He said: “We are deeply saddened by this incident. On behalf of Singapore Airlines, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased.
“We are very sorry for the traumatic experience that everyone on board SQ321 went through. We are fully co-operating with the relevant authorities on the investigations.”
A spokesperson for the UK Civil Aviation Authority also said: “Our deepest condolences go out to all those who have been affected.
“Accidents of this nature are extremely rare and aviation remains one of the safest forms of travel.”