Mum ends up in coma with meningitis after snorkelling
The 30-year-old went snorkelling with her kids on a boat trip but avoided putting her head underwater as she suffers from tinnitus - a permanent ringing in the ears.
However she began experiencing ear pain and louder ringing after returning to her hotel and assumed it had been triggered by the water or her 'very noisy' kids and that she just needed some 'peace and quiet' so ignored it.
Rebecca shared her ordeal on social media (Image: Kennedy News/thepurplebeebakery) However, on their last day the family were due to visit a water park but the mum-of-four suddenly 'lost consciousness' - and says she could've died if her hubby had gone without her as planned.
After being rushed to hospital doctors diagnosed her with bacterial meningitis, a potentially life-threatening infection, that saw her brain swell up, leaving her in a coma for three days.
The family are now 'stranded' in Turkey until Rebecca is fit to fly and her friends set up a GoFundMe page to support them while she is unable to work.
When sharing her ordeal on social media, Rebecca wrote 'when you make a joke about wanting to have a few extra days holiday then contract bacterial meningitis and slip into a coma for three days'.
Rebecca, a self-employed baker who lives in Middlesborough, North Yorkshire, said: "I came on this lovely holiday with my family and never expected it to turn into such a nightmare.
"I'd got off the boat to swim with our children and had a little snorkel but didn't actually put my head under the water because I'm not really meant to [due to bursting my ear drum 10 years ago when scuba diving].
"Once we got back to the hotel I started to suffer from tinnitus in my ears. I've always had it on and off but the doctors back home don't seem too keen to do much. I thought it could be something to do with the boat trip.
"Lots of things can trigger it but mainly noise and if I get water into it. I do try to avoid getting water in my ear. My children are very noisy so they add to the tinnitus so I thought maybe I just need some peace and quiet.
"I'm no stranger to ear pain so I did not think it was going to progress into this.
"The day before we were meant to go home we had a trip to the waterpark planned and I said to my husband 'my ear is still doing my head in so I won't be able to enjoy it. You take the girls and I'll stay at home with the baby'.
"My husband was like 'I don't think I'm going to do that because you just don't look right'. We were told that if he had done that he would've come back to a dead body. He went against my judgement and stayed.
"I started to lose consciousness so he alerted the hotel and some other guests were aware so rang for an ambulance.
"I am so grateful my partner stayed with me and didn't go to the waterpark. I can be quite stubborn so I'm surprised I didn't just say 'no, just go'. I need to listen to him more."
After being rushed to hospital doctors diagnosed Rebecca with bacterial meningitis and swelling of the brain and she went into a coma for three days.
After waking up she had a procedure on her ear drum and doctors suspect it was caused by an underlying ear infection back in the UK.
Rebecca said: "Apparently [the doctors] were trying to do procedures on me and because I was so confused I was getting aggressive and lashing out.
"I had to be further sedated and restrained so they could actually find out what was wrong with me. That caused me to slip into a coma for three days.
"Then I woke up properly and immediately was confused where my husband and children were and what was going on and realised my arms and legs were trapped to my bed.
"It was shocking. I didn't believe it when they said three days. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
"I was terrified waking up hearing about brain swelling because my dad died of a haemorrhage to the brain. I thought 'oh my god, I'm going to die'. I was panicking.
"They did a procedure on my ear and it was excruciating because they sawed my ear drum."
The family were due to fly back home on 3 July but are now waiting until Rebecca is fit to fly and she remains on an IV drip and has to take painkillers.
Luckily, the parent had travel insurance but her friends set up a GoFundMe page to support the family while Rebecca is unable to work.
Rebecca said: "We're just stranded here. They're going to try and get me on a normal flight but they're going to get me airport assistance. I'm able to do little walks but as far as getting around an airport I don't think I'll be able to do that.
"It's hard to sit up for more than about 60 minutes at the moment without needing to lie back down because my head feels like it's spinning. It's day by day.
"[The GoFundMe page] is absolutely incredible. It's been a massive help and benefit because whether the insurance drags their heels a bit on sorting my family's accommodations, the insurers say they'll pay it back but that's to be seen.
"There's other costs like food and drink for my children. Because we're self employed we've got no income right now and we're missing out on a lot of markets and events that we do."
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