A devastated mother has appealed for help after her son was left battling for his life following a horrific accident during his first holiday without his family.
Louis Benson had jetted off to Zante, Greece, alongside a group of friends and was excited about the trip. However, disaster struck when he was involved in a serious accident and rushed to hospital with bleeding on the brain.
His mother, Olinda, from Halifax, West Yorkshire, said he was put into an induced coma and required transfer to mainland Greece for life-saving surgery.
She revealed there was no insurance in place and appealed for donations to help cover urgent costs, including getting Louis's father out to Greece to be by his side while she remained at home caring for her other son.
In an update shared on June 11, Olinda revealed Louis had been transferred to Athens by the Royal Air Force. She said he remained in a critical but stable condition, as reported by NeedToKnow.
Two days later, on June 13, Olinda said she had arrived in Athens and thanked people for their overwhelming support.
She said: "Firstly I would like to say that I am totally overwhelmed with the response to my plea and more so, the amount of donations made. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart."
"These donations have lifted a huge weight off my family's shoulders. I will be eternally grateful."
Olinda later shared a heartbreaking update after speaking to doctors about her son's condition.
She said: "Louis had a severe brain injury. He is heavily sedated. They are keeping him stable and sedated for the next few days then will slowly wake him to see if he responds to stimuli and if he moves, talks, and understands."
"They cannot say anything more than that at the moment."
She added: "They let me see him for a few minutes only as visiting is strict. It broke my heart seeing him like that."
"I talked to him and told him to be strong and to recover. And he was massively loved by all of us."
At the time of writing, £29,666 had been raised towards a £45,000 target as supporters rallied around the family during the ordeal.
