2 days ago
EXCLUSIVE British dad, 24, stranded in Cyprus hospital with broken spine and shattered pelvis after horror fall from Ayia Napa hotel balcony
A dad is 'lucky to be alive' after falling from a balcony while on a lads' holiday to Ayia Napa.
Sam Hudson, 24, had been partying with his brother and a pal at the resort town when he tumbled from the second floor of his hotel while drunk.
The decorator, from Lincoln, is now facing a lengthy stay at a hospital in Cyprus after breaking his hip, part of his lower back and his leg.
But the 'bubbly' young man had not taken out travel insurance, leaving his family with a medical bill potentially in the 10s of thousands.
Mr Hudson, who has a two-year-old son, left a pool party last Sunday evening when a passerby spotted him trying to walk between balconies at the Anmaria Beach Hotel, where he was staying.
It is believed he was trying to reach his brother's room - which was next door - but Mr Hudson said he can't remember anything before the fall.
The passerby phoned the emergency services when they saw Mr Hudson plunge from the balcony, who was then rushed to a local clinic, Famagusta hospital in Paralimni, before being transferred to the biggest hospital on the island, Nicosia General Hospital.
When his brother, Nathan, and their friend returned, they were met by police waiting in the hotel lobby. The cops have launched an investigation into the circumstances.
Mr Hudson's stepmother, Karen, and her husband flew out the next day to be with their son who is in 'unimaginable pain' and has been struggling to communicate with doctors because he is on so much medication.
'You just go totally numb, it was the worst phone call you could get. Your mind goes straight for the worst,' Mrs Hudson told MailOnline.
Mr Hudson's son is also 'missing his daddy deeply' and the single father is 'heartbroken that he can't be there with him', she added.
The 'devastated' family have set up a GoFundMe to cover health costs after they were faced with paying for a repatriation plane - which costs around £16,000 - or staying in Cyprus for the duration of Mr Hudson's recovery.
Nathan is said to be in shock after seeing his brother in hospital and has been unable to eat or sleep since the accident.
Ms Hudson said: 'You know what young boys are like but I never could have predicted something like this would happen.
'Doctors at the hospital have said he's lucky to be alive or to not have more severe damage.
'Even though the balcony is second floor, the hotel is on a slope and there's a restaurant too, so it's more like the fourth floor.
'If the passerby hadn't seen him, Sam could have been lying there for much longer because their room was at the back of the hotel.
She added: 'We told him so many times before he left that he needed to get travel insurance but he didn't listen.
'I want the government to make it a legal requirement that all young people must have travel insurance before travelling because I don't another family to have to go through what we have.
'I've heard of families having to remortgage their house or sell their car to cover costs of accidents like this - all because they didn't think to take out insurance.'
Mr Hudson's accident comes only weeks after another Brit plunged from a hotel balcony in the Costa del Sol.
They were rushed to hospital in a 'critical condition' after the fall at the Hard Rock Hotel near Marbella.
The three friends with the holidaymaker have been interviewed as part of a police investigation.
