Patricia Buntin, 76, became seriously ill after contracting Covid-19 as she planned a holiday to Florida where she intended to visit Disneyland, which she calls her “happy place”
A devastating update has been shared after a gran set off for Florida without travel insurance and became seriously ill.
Patricia Bunting, 76, had been on a three-week getaway to the Sunshine State with her grandson and her two sons when she became ill. The beloved gran is being treated at Orlando’s dr. P. Phillips Hospital after she contracted Covid-19.
The staggering cost of getting her back to the UK now stands at £80,000, up from the £50,000 sought by her family. A December 14 update on the family’s GoFundMe page said: “At the moment, she is still facing significant health challenges.
“She is battling a second bout of bacterial pneumonia, for which she is being treated with IV antibotics, has suffered a gastrointestinal bleed (which thankfully she has now recovered from) and also blood clots in her legs. She remains on continuous oxygen as her levels have been fluctuating between 80-90 per cent.
“We are currently awaiting an update from the hospital regarding the estimated cost of treatment and they are also supporting us with exploring options for her to return home safely. We have independently spoken to a wide-range of medical assisted flight providers, both in the UK and USA, but the lowest quote received is circa £80,000. In an ideal scenario, we are hoping mum’s health starts to improve, and her breathing stabilises, so there are cheaper options to consider.”
Patricia had considered travel insurance for her 20th visit to Disneyland, which she called her “happy place,” but she was quoted £3,000 due to her underlying conditions and ruled it as being too expensive. In her current condition she is unable to fly as a normal passenger and would need to be medically assisted throughout the journey back.
Her family want to return to the UK so she could get treatment closer to Wigan where she lives. So far the GoFundMe campaign has raised an estimated £29,330 as of Tuesday evening. Emma, Patricia’s daughter, said she hopes the family will be able to share a plan about how to get her back as early as next week. She added: “Knowing that so many people care about my mum has provided comfort and hope for our family.”
She previously told the Mirror that Patricia was found slumped over the bathtub of her hotel room after complaining of having very little energy. Emma continued: “She’d been complaining the past few days that she had very little energy – that’s nothing out of the ordinary for my mum, so while she’d been in America, she was in a wheelchair so that she could still go to all her favourite destinations.
“But she went to the bathroom on Sunday evening, and was in there for quite a while. My brother went to the door and asked her if she was okay, and found her slumped over the bath. He panicked and went straight down to the reception and said ‘I need a doctor’. When the doctors came to assess her, they said ‘She needs an ambulance. We need to get her to the hospital’.”
