British girl, 19, in intensive care after contracting deadly disease on holiday
Millie Bayles, 19, thought she was developing an ear infection while visiting the island of Rhodes with friends but her condition quickly deteriorated.
She was transferred to a hospital more than 300 miles away in Athens, where she remains semi-conscious.
Her mum Lauren Murphy said: 'We are now at the stage where we can look to bring Millie back to the UK. She is out of immediate danger, but she has a long road to recovery ahead of her.
'She is still only semi-conscious, and we have yet to see how badly this illness will have affected her brain in the long term.
'Unfortunately, due to being an invincible young person, Millie neglected to take out any holiday insurance, and so we have to fund her medical flight home privately.
'We desperately need help to get our girl back to her home country so she can continue her recovery process.'
The family have been able to raise £40,000 so far to fund the cost of medical bills and flights.
Millie's stepdad, Pete said: 'I am so overwhelmed by the immediate generosity of all of you lovely people and plenty that are certainly not on my friend list.
'Myself, Lauren and Millie are so grateful for your kind donations.
'Millie has got a long battle ahead, but she certainly has a lot of people rooting for her, and we can't thank you enough for that.'
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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