Grandad stuck in holiday destination as dream Greece trip takes nightmare turn

Daily Mirror

2 days ago

Alan Kirby, 67, a car valeter, from Marston Magna, Somerset, thought the pain in his side at dinner was from throwing his stepdaughter's children around in the sea in Zante
A British holidaymaker is trapped in Greece on a ventilator, facing a £14,000 hospital bill due to an error with his travel insurance.
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Alan Kirby, 67, a car valet from Marston Magna, Somerset, initially believed the pain in his side was a result of playing with his stepdaughter's children in the sea in Zante. However, when he woke up struggling for breath, he sought medical advice and doctors recommended he return to the UK for a biopsy on a lung mass they feared could be cancerous.
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Before Alan could return home, his health worsened and he was placed on a ventilator, preventing him from taking a commercial flight back to the UK. He was subsequently airlifted to a private hospital in Athens. Alan's health battles come as travel experts Brits to claim a card that delivers free healthcare in 34 different countries.
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Hospital officials contacted Alan's insurance company, which revealed that the Brit was aware of the mass - something he claims British doctors had identified as benign fatty tissue and told him not to worry about. This classified it as a pre-existing medical condition, which he had not declared to his insurers, thus invalidating his cover and leaving the family with a £14,000 bill.
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Alan is currently on a ventilator in a hospital covered by his Global Health Insurance Card, and is too ill to fly home on a standard flight. However, he lacks the insurance to cover a £45,000 private medical flight home. His family are uncertain if he has cancer, or if his symptoms are due to pneumonia, which he is now fighting.
His distraught family are fundraising to cover the cost of the ambulance flight home, and are speaking out to raise awareness of potential holiday insurance mistakes. Alan's stepdaughter Liza Whitemore, 40, a private care assistant from Wincanton, Somerset, said: "We know we've made the mistake [with the insurance] - that's the problem.
"My mum had gone into the bank that she had insurance with and they said, 'just go on holiday, you don't have to do anything'. They didn't know about the mass. And he was well before - he was working as a car valeter the day before the holiday.
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"He's still on a ventilator. There's a talk about him going into a coma, but we don't know if it's cancer or pneumonia doing the damage. He's fine, then he's not, he's fine then he's not. He's really breathless - on the phone he can't say more than a few sentences. We're just desperate to get him home."
Alan was three days into his break with his partner Helen Whitemore, 62, Liza and her three daughters, when he became unwell on July 5. He appeared "dreadful, grey and pale" during a family meal in Tsilivi, so returned to the hotel.
"At dinner he had aching pain all down the right side of his torso. He thought it was from throwing my kids while playing in the sea earlier in the day," Liza continued.
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He awoke feeling breathless and visited a local clinic in the morning, and after thorough testing was transferred to a nearby hospital. The pair say they believed he had a chest infection and required antibiotics.
"But the doctor, who must have had the clinic's test results, said, 'antibiotics won't cure cancer'," said Liza. "Everyone was petrified, nobody knew what was going on. After five hours, they told my mum she needed to go back to England for a biopsy, because they couldn't tell from the X-ray if Alan had cancer."
The hospital had discovered a growth in Alan's right lung, which he was already aware of, but claims British medics had informed him was a harmless fatty tissue mass in December 2024.
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Two days later Alan was "fitting" in his hospital bed, confused and dehydrated with oxygen levels of just 36%. "They placed him on a non-invasive ventilator and there was discussion that evening of putting him in a coma but then they said he might not wake up because of his lungs," said Liza.
The insurance firm agreed to transport Alan to a private hospital in Athens via a helicopter ambulance. He was unable to fly to the UK because it was too lengthy a journey and he was required to stay on a ventilator.
However, when Alan reached Athens, the insurance company contacted Lisa to say they were examining Alan's pre-existing conditions. The investigations took five days and the insurance company requested Alan's UK GP records - and uncovered Alan's 'pre-existing condition', the growth in his lung.
Now, the insurance company has informed Alan's family they will cover Alan's care up until the investigations began - five days of private hospital care costing £14,000. Alan was transferred to Athens' General Hospital, where his care is covered by his GHIC card, and he continues to receive treatment with a ventilator and antibiotics.
Back in Somerset, Alan's family are now striving to raise the £45,000 needed to bring him home via air ambulance.