Dying Brit mum fighting for life in Spain after botched surgery sparked organ shut down
A British mum is fighting for her life in Spain after botched emergency surgery sparked a major organ shut down.
Colleen Mckinnon and her husband Steve jetted off for a few relaxing days in the sun when the mum suddenly became unwell with a gallbladder infection and gallstones. She was rushed to a private hospital, where she has spent the last six weeks after an alleged botched surgery.
Colleen's gallbladder should have been removed during a routine operation, but instead, medics placed abdominal drains inside her. Over the next few days, the infection "kept getting worse", according to worried daughter Rachel.
Unbeknownst to the family, the infection that was contained in the gallbladder was "now leaking into her abdomen and infecting all her other organs." Colleen, from Dundee, has remained in intensive care for the last four weeks out of six.
She has had seven abdominal drains, which have all failed, along with a large and complex operation on her abdomen that was unsuccessful. The family was quoted £39,000 for a medical ambulance, which prompted daughter Rachel to set-up a GoFundMe.
Rachel wrote: "Unfortunately my mum is still critical and has had another set back. My mum started to deteriorate yesterday and is now back on oxygen due to her stats dropping.
"Another MRI scan had shown that she now has a further large amount of infection in her abdomen and they are not completely sure where it is coming from. There has been talks of her need to travel 40 miles to have another procedure and now the possibility also another invasive and complicated operation.
"As you can imagine we are desperately wanting to get my mum home so that she can be treated at her local hospital but the more I witness her deteriorating and becoming weaker, the harder it is to imagine how this is going to happen unless we fund it and get her an air ambulance privately.
"My mum does have travel insurance and they are covering her medical costs, however they are dragging their feet and are now saying that she needs to finish all treatment over in Spain before flying home commercially the doctors here have said that this can take a number of weeks.
"We have been quoted £39,000 for a medical air ambulance home for her. We need to get my mum home, she deserves to be cared for in her own country, surrounded and supported by all her family."
Rachel revealed that the target has been hit, as of today, and she was on her way to tell the "amazing news" to her mum.
She wrote: "Thank you to each and every single person that's helped us get here. As a family we will be forever grateful for the amount and support that my mum has been given."
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