
Woman suffers 'life changing accident' while working as camp leader in USA
She needed multiple operations and intensive care treatment, said her heartbroken family, who are well known in the town. Now a fundraising campaign has now been launched to help bring Charlotte home.
A statement on the gofundme website said: "Our beautiful Charlotte was tragically involved in a life changing accident whilst working as a camp leader this summer. She has suffered a life threatening fall on the 4th July and has been hospitalised since.
"Her fall resulted in spinal and foot fractures requiring multiple surgeries, internal bleeding and admission to the intensive care unit. She's also dealing with intense emotional trauma from the fall, and it breaks our hearts that we can't be there to help.
"But on top of all of the unimaginable pain and suffering, while we have been deciding what to do as a family, we were just hit with another worry that her insurance company will not be covering the cost of repatriation from America to back home.
"She urgently needs to come home for her to access specialist care via the NHS and continue her recovery with family by her side.
"It is because of this that we are reaching out to her friends, and our community around us, to ask if anyone can spare anything to help us with the costs related to her care and journey home. Her repatriation currently costs £45,000.
"We know this is a difficult time financially for so many, and if you are not able to donate, then PLEASE can we ask you to share this far and wide, on your social media and around your work."
The famiily said they could never have imagined it would happen to them and they would be in this situation asking for support, when all they want "is to have her home."
The statement added: "We will be keeping everyone updated every step of the way, and thank you all so much already for your kind words, promises of donations and support. It means more to us that you could imagine.
"Thank you so much."

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Guardian
16 minutes ago
- The Guardian
OpenAI changes ChatGPT to stop it telling people to break up with partners
ChatGPT will not tell people to break up with their partner and will encourage users to take breaks from long chatbot sessions, under new changes to the artificial intelligence tool. OpenAI, ChatGPT's developer, said the chatbot would stop giving definitive answers to personal challenges and would instead help people mull over issues such as breakups. 'When you ask something like: 'Should I break up with my boyfriend?' ChatGPT shouldn't give you an answer. It should help you think it through – asking questions, weighing pros and cons,' said OpenAI. The US company said new ChatGPT behaviour for dealing with 'high-stakes personal decisions' would be rolling out soon. OpenAI admitted this year that an update to ChatGPT had made the groundbreaking chatbot too agreeable and altered its tone. In one reported interaction before the change, ChatGPT congratulated a user for 'standing up for yourself' when they claimed they had stopped taking their medication and left their family – who were supposedly 'responsible' for radio signals emanating from the walls. In the blog post OpenAI admitted there had been instances where its advanced 4o model had not recognised signs of delusion or emotional dependency – amid concerns that chatbots are worsening people's mental health crises. The company said it was developing tools to detect signs of mental or emotional distress so ChatGPT can direct people to 'evidence-based' resources for help. A recent study by NHS doctors in the UK warned that AI programs could amplify delusional or grandiose content in users vulnerable to psychosis. The study, which has not been peer reviewed, said this could be due in part to the models being designed to 'maximise engagement and affirmation'. The study added that even if some individuals benefitted from AI interactions, there was a concern the tools could 'blur reality boundaries and disrupt self-regulation'. OpenAI added that from this week it would send 'gentle reminders' to take a screen break to users engaging in long chatbot sessions, similar to screen-time features deployed by social media companies. OpenAI said it had convened an advisory group of experts in mental health, youth development and human-computer-interaction to guide its approach. The company has worked with more than 90 doctors including psychiatrists and paediatricians to build frameworks for evaluating 'complex, multi-turn' chatbot conversations. 'We hold ourselves to one test: if someone we love turned to ChatGPT for support, would we feel reassured? Getting to an unequivocal 'yes' is our work,' said the blog post. The ChatGPT alterations were announced amid speculation that a more powerful version of the chatbot is imminent. On Sunday Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief executive, shared a screenshot of what appeared to be the company's latest AI model, GPT-5.


The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Thousands of patients miss out on weight loss jab due to NHS ‘postcode lottery'
Thousands of obese patients are missing out on a key weight loss jab due to a 'postcode lottery' of provision in the NHS, according to a report. Mounjaro, dubbed the 'King Kong' of weight loss medicine, was supposed to be available through GP surgeries from 23 June under an agreement between NHS England and NICE. But just eight out of 42 NHS Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in England were able to provide treatment to patients, according to Sky News, who obtained the data using a Freedom of Information request. Many other ICBs were reportedly unable to confirm when treatment would be available. Dr Jonathan Hazlehurst, an endocrinologist and obesity physician at University Hospitals Birmingham, said patients were 'set up for failure' and have been treated unfairly. "Giving people open promises and setting them up for disappointment and failure is clearly grossly unfair. That's what the current system is doing,' he told the broadcaster. NICE said in December that the NHS should offer Mounjaro to patients with a BMI of over 40 and at least four clinical conditions related to their weight, such as heart disease or type 2 diabetes. It calculated from NHS England data that there were 97,500 patients who should be treated in the first year. But Dr Hazlehurst claims NHS England has only provided funding for just over 22,000 patients. The Independent has approached NHS England for comment. A spokesperson told Sky News that NHS England had "fully supported the rollout" of Mounjaro. "We issued guidance and provided funding in March to all Integrated Care Boards to support treatment costs, enable scaling of services and provide wrap-around care, including digital support services,' they said. It comes after NICE warned many individuals might regain weight if not adequately supported after ceasing treatment. It stressed that those coming off the drugs should be offered "structured advice and follow-up support" to mitigate weight gain. This guidance applies to individuals receiving these treatments through the NHS. However, an estimated 1.5 million people in the UK are currently using weight-loss injections, with the vast majority paying privately. These individuals will not be eligible for NHS support once their treatment concludes. The new 'quality standard' from NICE says that NHS patients should be monitored for at least a year after they complete treatment, and extra support should be offered if needed. It emphasises building 'long-term behavioural habits, use self-monitoring tools, and draw on wider support – from online communities to family-led interventions and local activities'. This standard, a type of guidance for the health services in England and Wales, sets out expectations for health providers including how they should support patients. 'Successful weight management doesn't end when medication stops or when someone completes a behavioural programme,' said Professor Jonathan Benger, deputy chief executive and chief medical officer at Nice. 'We know that the transition period after treatment is crucial, and people need structured support to maintain the positive changes they've made.'


Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Health officials tell UK to brace for surge of virus that is the leading cause of death in newborns
Britons have been warned to brace themselves for an upsurge in cases of a deadly lung infection amid a global rise. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which can be deadly for young children and the elderly, flares up every autumn in the UK—just like the flu. But official surveillance data shows Australia has already logged a record number of cases this year. NHS chiefs believe the Australian winter is a good predictor of how viruses will spread in the UK. Spread by coughs and sneezes, it hospitalises around 30,000 children and 18,000 adults in the UK every year, due to serious breathing complications like pneumonia and lung infections. It said that the virus is a leading cause of death among babies. Around 20 to 30 children die from the virus each winter. It's also estimated to contribute to the deaths of 8,000 adults over the same period, due to the increased strain the infection puts on patient's hearts, causing the organ to fail. Officials have now urged pregnant women and those eligible to get the RSV vaccine. Kate Brintworth, chief midwifery officer for NHS England, said: 'While for most adults RSV only causes mild, cold-like symptoms, for older adults and young children it can lead to serious breathing problems that can end up in hospitalisation. 'Getting vaccinated while pregnant is the best way to protect your baby from the moment they are born. 'Now is the time for mums to act, to make sure their babies are protected ahead of their first few months this winter, when there tends to be more bugs circulating.' Last week, data published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also showed the jab for pregnant women can prevent almost three quarters (72 per cent) of hospital admissions for their babies. The antibodies the mums produce in response to the jab are passed to their babies in the womb, protecting them for the first six months after being born. Meanwhile, the vaccine is 82 per cent effective at preventing hospital admissions for RSV among older adults, the UKHSA noted. Pregnant women can get the jab from 28 weeks of pregnancy onwards through their maternity services or GP surgery. Older adults aged 75-79 are also eligible for the jab and NHS England will start inviting people to come forward in the next few weeks. The NHS's jab rollout comes as part of its winter vaccine plans, which also includes Covid and flu vaccines. The lung condition spreads by large droplets and the virus can survive on surfaces for up to seven hours. Children remain infectious for up to three weeks, even after their symptoms have passed. Higher risk babies can receive the nirsevimab vaccine from September—with the single jab replacing five monthly injections previously given to infants classed as being at high risk.