A Wallasey family has launched a fundraising appeal after a mum with epilepsy suffered a seizure while on holiday in Mauritius and is facing hundreds of pounds in hospital costs.
Kinsay Dilks, 43, travelled to the island with her 23-year-old daughter, Kacey Lee, for a special birthday trip on Saturday, September 19. But what was meant to be a memorable holiday took a terrifying turn when Kinsay suffered a seizure while they were having dinner at their hotel, Jalsa Beach Hotel Spa, on Saturday night (September 26).
Collapse and hospital admission
After being seemingly fine one minute, the mum-of-six suddenly collapsed, prompting hotel staff to call an ambulance. She was taken to the island's private hospital, Clinique du Nord, where she underwent blood tests and a CT brain scan and was admitted to intensive care.
Her family said she has since been told she needs to return to the UK as soon as possible to see her neurologist. But the family is now desperately trying to raise money to cover the costs of her treatment and an earlier flight home after discovering Kinsay did not have valid travel insurance.
Insurance payment bounced back
Her daughter Brooke Taylor, 19, said the family had believed the insurance had been arranged, but the payment bounced back into Kinsay's account and, amid preparations for the trip, it was never completed. Brooke said her mum's epilepsy can cause severe memory problems, and she can forget things within seconds.
She told the ECHO: "She was trying to do three things at once, and her epilepsy can't work like that as well. You could tell her something now, and she'd forget it in 30 seconds. Her brain, she cannot remember anything."
Kinsay is diagnosed with five types of epilepsy, which Brooke said is linked to head injuries she sustained during childhood. The family had been expecting Kinsay and Casey to return home on Wednesday, but they are now trying to bring the 43-year-old home earlier following advice from medical professionals in the UK.
Rising medical costs
The costs have already begun to mount as Kinsay was charged £800 for the ambulance when she arrived at the hospital, while her hospital bill included charges for a doctor's consultation, blood tests, a 3D CT brain scan, radiologist fees, medication, and intensive care. The bill for her treatment so far has come to around £900 - on top of the £800 already paid for the ambulance.
The family has also been told she needs to return to the UK as soon as possible, with Brooke finding an earlier flight costing around £1,150. Brooke has now set up a GoFundMe appeal to help cover the costs and get her mum home. The appeal has already raised more than £200, but the family fears the costs will continue to rise.
Brooke said: "We just need that little push, basically. We're all stressing, really, and we just want her home."
Family's ordeal and warning to others
The 19-year-old said she has spent days on the phone trying to work out what the family can do, including contacting the British embassy in Mauritius. She said she "barely slept" as she tried to keep in touch with her mum and sister while also trying to understand the hospital bills and arrangements for getting Kinsay home.
Brooke said her mum had previously experienced seizures in the UK, but the circumstances in Mauritius were particularly frightening because she was thousands of miles away from home. She said: "My first thought was she's going to be erratic, and that the hospital staff are not going to have a clue what she's doing because they've never obviously witnessed this. I was petrified thinking the worst."
Kinsay spent the night in hospital and has since been recovering from the seizure. Brooke said her mum has been extremely tired and confused in the aftermath, as she often is following a seizure.
The trip itself had been particularly meaningful for Kinsay and Casey. Casey's father, Steve Lee, died when she was two years old, but the trip to the island had always been a lifelong dream for the family. So Kinsay had saved up to take her daughter to Mauritius for her 23rd birthday. Brooke said the holiday had been intended as a chance for the pair to make memories together and find some closure.
Instead, the family is now focused on getting Kinsay safely back to Wallasey. Brooke hopes the family's experience will also serve as a warning to other people travelling abroad about the importance of checking that travel insurance is actually in place before leaving the UK.
She said: "We can't change what's happened, but we can just learn from the mistakes. I hope this never happens to anybody else. Even though you think, 'Oh, this could never happen to us', it clearly can happen to absolutely anybody."
