A British mother of 58 spent 16 days in a coma after contracting Legionnaires’ disease while on holiday in Crete, and now fears she may never fully recover. Donna Jobling, from Hull, was on a £1,500-per-couple all-inclusive trip with her husband Sid, 70, and two friends when she fell ill.
She was admitted to Venizeleio Hospital in Crete on June 11 and placed in an induced coma after developing acute respiratory failure and pneumonia. Tests confirmed Legionnaires’ disease, a lung infection caused by inhaling infected water droplets. After returning to the UK, she was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare autoimmune disorder that attacks the nerves, leaving her unable to move from the neck down without assistance.
Donna says her life has been “totally changed” and that her husband has become her full-time carer, helping with washing, meals, and pushing her wheelchair. She told reporters: “I’ve been told I may never get much better. It’s so difficult.” The couple’s lives have been “on hold” for the past year, with little progress in her condition.
Donna has instructed Hudgell Solicitors to make a claim against easyJet, the holiday operator. The solicitors say easyJet has agreed to cover the cost of physiotherapy but has not yet agreed to occupational therapy or accepted liability for her contracting the disease at the Sergios Hotel in Hersonissos. An easyJet spokesperson said: “We are sorry to hear that Ms Jobling remains unwell and hope the matter is resolved swiftly.”
