Woman, 86, 'stuck' in Turkey after holiday turns to nightmare
Amaya Harrison is pleading for people to ‘help us bring Nan home’
A grandmother from the UK is stuck in Turkey after her holiday turned into a nightmare. Catherine Harrison, 86, was just two days into a family stay in Antalya when she suffered a fall in the shower, fracturing her back.
The fall left Catherine in excruciating pain for several days before her family decided to take her to a private hospital. Her great-granddaughter, Amaya Harrison, told the Manchester Evening News: “She fell and landed on her back.
“My mum and her partner were there at the time and they brought her back into her bedroom and tried to put cold ice packs and cold sprays. She was bed-bound for three days, so we had to send her to a hospital that was recommended by the hotel we were staying at.
“She’s not really been able to talk because she’s been crying in pain. She’s been telling us not to worry or stress, but I know she’s the one that is stressing.” Amaya said there were issues with Catherine’s care at the initial ward, but she has since been moved.
The 21-year-old added: “They are trying to feed her, going out and finding her food so hopefully it’ll be okay. While Amaya, her siblings, and her mother’s partner have returned to Manchester, her mother Joanne remains in Turkey with Catherine, who is still in hospital.
Although travel insurance was secured for Catherine, Joanne didn’t purchase any for herself. Despite reaching out to insurance companies, the family hasn’t received much “help or advice”, Amaya said.
Now, the family is attempting to raise £56,000 to get Catherine back home to Manchester. Amaya said: “They’re saying it’s going to cost us £56,000 to get her home because she can’t fly a normal commercial flight.
“She has to be on a stretcher because she has to lie flat. She also needs a doctor because my Nana has loads of other healthcare conditions and it’s a high risk for her to come home.
“My mum is beating herself up because she can’t be at home and she can’t get Nana home. It’s one of those hard, hard situations that we’re trying to go through. We have quite a big family and my Nana is at the centre of it.
“She was the youngest of five children and she’s the only one left. A lot of us are panicking here in Manchester, trying to scrape pennies together to get her home. It has been hard, especially to my younger siblings, they don’t really understand the severity of the situation as of yet.
“We’re really just trying to get it together.” Amaya has set up a Go Fund Me to “Help us bring Nan home”. You can donate by clicking here
