An Oldham family are appealing for help as a beloved grandmother remains in an intensive care unit (ICU) in Turkey.
Fiona McCusker, 51, flew to Turkey for a solo holiday after the death of her mother, Olive, and had been doing fine until she fell ill on Thursday, May 23.
Now, as she remains in a serious condition in the hospital, her family are desperately hoping she recovers as they ask people to help them get her home.
Fiona had been enjoying the first few days of her holiday (Image: Cody Wood)
On Thursday, Fiona called one of her kids on FaceTime and was lying on the floor of her hotel room covered in her own blood.
Her son Cody Wood, said: "She looked very disorientated, her eyes were rolling back into her head.
"I was just thinking 'What if she dies on the phone?'
"It was scary, it was upsetting. My head flew off."
Fiona, centre, with her daughter Courtney, left, and her late mother Olive (Image: Cody Wood)
Cody, 25, and his sister Courtney scrambled to try and get in touch with the hotel so she could receive medical attention.
However, neither could get through to the hotel or the British embassy in Turkey, before British police managed to get through to the hotel.
After a delayed response, an ambulance was called and Fiona was taken to the Antalya Private Life Hospital.
Antalya Private Life Hospital, where Fiona remains in ICU (Image: Google Maps)
Cody said: "At first I was quite annoyed but they explained this was the best hospital for her due to her condition."
At the hospital, Fiona was diagnosed with gastrointestinal haemorrhaging, liver cirrhosis and sepsis.
Cody, who flew out to Turkey the day after his mum was hospitalised, said that while his mum remains in ICU, the family are incurring major medical bills which have left them with no choice but to set up a GoFundMe page.
Her son Cody has flown out to Turkey to be with her (Image: Cody Wood)
He said the hospital will not release Fiona, who works as a chef at a hospital, until the medical costs are paid, unless she is medically repatriated to the UK, with the total costs expected to land somewhere between £35,000 and £49,000.
Cody explained that the costs are unlikely to be covered by Fiona's holiday insurance because she did not disclose any medical conditions that were a consequence of her being a recovering alcoholic.
To donate to the family's GoFundMe page, click here.
While Cody is out in Turkey, only able to visit his mum in the ICU for five minutes each day, he said the family are doing their best during this difficult time.
He said: "As a family, we're all going to stick together and ensure she gets the best care possible.
Cody is only permitted to visit his mum for five minutes each day (Image: Cody Wood)
"We are where we are and we need to get on with it.
"It's just awful waiting for something to happen, we don't know what we're waiting for.
"We just want her home, we're just extremely upset that we're in this situation."
Cody said that there are some positive signs for his mum, with doctors saying the sepsis is getting better and there have been signs of improvement.
Fiona's family are hoping to get her back to the UK as soon as possible (Image: Cody Wood)
During what has been a desperately difficult time for the family, they remain hopeful that Fiona can make a recovery and come back home.
Cody said: "My mum has been through hell and back, we've always seen her bounce back.
"We're still optimistic."
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