‘Traumatic experience' – Irishman left ‘unconscious' on road for five HOURS after being struck by car on Spain holiday
AN IRISHMAN is facing a "long and uncertain" path to recovery after he was struck by a car and left unconscious on the side of a road in Spain for almost five hours.
Philip Lee, 60s, was on a short break in Alicante last month when he was struck by a car while he was on an early-morning walk on the footpath of a backroad.
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Philip was left with serious injuries following the incident
Credit: GoFundMe
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Philip is still in hospital in Alicante
Credit: GoFundMe
The Sligo native was left there, unconscious and suffering serious injuries, for almost five hours after the hit-and-run before a passerby called for an ambulance.
Philip, who is currently in hospital in the sunny city on Spain's southeastern Costa Blanca, suffered severe facial fractures, a broken femur and damage to hip and knee alongside other trauma.
The dad-of-two is currently not able to fly home on a standard commercial flight due to his condition.
Philip's family are currently exploring "every option available" to get him home - whether by medical flight or ferry ambulance.
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And as Philip unfortunately did not have travel insurance, his family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise enough funds to bring him home.
His wife Emma Lee said the family is hoping to raise money to cover travel and basic accommodation for family to be with him, medical repatriation and special flight support, ongoing care and rehabilitation and home adaptions and equipment.
The family are also hoping to raise enough funds to cover the cost of any legal or transport expenses that may arise during Philip's recovery.
Emma said: "We are trying to raise funds to get Philip home safely, support his treatment and recovery.
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"This has been a traumatic and life changing experience for Philip and all of us who care about him.
"We're incredibly grateful he survived, but now we need your help to get him home to his family and support his healing journey."
Emma added that Philip is receiving "a lot of phone calls" from those concerned about his wellbeing but explained that he is "not able" to take them at the moment.
Emma said the support so far "means the world" to the family and revealed that communication is "tough" as the hospital staff don't speak English and she is relying on brief calls from Philip when he can speak.
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There were no witnesses of the hit-and-run incident but medical experts believe that the injuries were so severe they could only have been sustained had he been hit by a vehicle.
Philip's brother-in-law Gary Morris said the injured Sligo man "needs to get better medical care, respite and then get him home".
Warning others planning to head on holiday this summer, Gary posted on social media: "He unfortunately made the honest mistake of not having travel insurance and like many people people believed the E111 scheme would be sufficient.
"It isn't, travel insurance is essential, even on a quick trip to sunny Spain. Hence the reason for this fundraiser."
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Philip's family are hoping to travel to be by his bedside this week.
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