A grandmother suffered a brain aneurysm while traveling on vacation with her family. Her family fears it was caused by pressure from the plane’s cabin, leaving her stranded in a coma thousands of miles from her home.
Barbara Wilkinson had boarded the flight from East Midlands Airport to Corfu with her granddaughter Tamara Wilkinson, 13, and a close friend on October 14.
But after embarking on the three-hour plane journey, the 68-year-old began coughing and then fell into a “comatose” state.
The former singer and entertainer was then placed in a recovery position in the hallway space and the pilot made an emergency landing in Croatia so Barbara could be rushed to hospital.
It was initially suspected that Barbara had suffered a stroke, but after a CT scan at Zadar General Hospital it was confirmed that she had suffered a “life-threatening” brain aneurysm.
She was then transferred to Zagreb University Hospital Center for emergency surgery and remains there in a coma because her insurance does not cover the costs of her flight back to the UK.
Barbara Wilkinson, from Aspley in Nottingham, suffered a brain aneurysm on a holiday flight
Barbara was suspected of having suffered a stroke, but after a CT scan at Zadar General Hospital it was confirmed that she had suffered a “life-threatening” brain aneurysm.
Destiny Jordan, Barbara’s granddaughter, was at work when she learned of her grandmother’s condition and said she feared her grandmother would die.
Destiny Jordan, Barbara’s granddaughter, was at work when she learned of her grandmother’s condition and said she feared her grandmother would die.
The customer service advisor has set up a GoFundMe page to try to raise the £35,000 needed to bring the grandmother home safely and continue her recovery in the UK.
Destiny, from Aspley in Nottingham, said: “She had a flight in the morning and got to the airport safely and was with my sister and one of her close friends.”
‘She got on the flight fine and then just took a nap on the plane.
‘(At some point during the flight) my sister gave him a candy and he started coughing.
“At first they thought he might have choked on a piece of candy. When my sister looked at her she was coughing with her eyes open and they got a little worried.
Then he fell asleep again and then woke up and started coughing with his eyes open again.
“She went back to sleep for the third time, but then my sister tried to wake her up and she didn’t wake up.
“At first they thought it was a stroke. The stewardess had to talk to the pilot and that was when they told everyone that the plane was going to make an emergency landing in Croatia.
‘When they landed, they took her straight to the hospital in an ambulance.
“As soon as she arrived at the hospital, she herself went into a coma, but she was prescribed medication to keep her in a coma.
‘They did a CT scan of his head and confirmed he had a brain aneurysm.
‘They discovered it was a ruptured aneurysm, which was serious and life-threatening.
“She then needed emergency surgery and was transferred to another hospital. This surgery was to (treat) the bleeding.
‘I was at work when I found out about my grandmother. I had a panic attack and immediately started crying. I just wanted to bring my grandmother home and I was worried she was going to die.
“They (doctors) haven’t told us why it happened, we just assumed it was an aneurysm that was already there and then the pressure in the cabin caused it to rupture.”
Destiny has set up a GoFundMe page to try to raise the £35,000 needed to bring her grandmother home safely and continue her recovery in the UK.
After embarking on the three-hour plane ride, the 68-year-old began coughing and then fell asleep in a “comatose” state.
According to the NHS, an aneurysm is a bulge in a blood vessel caused by a weakness in the wall of the blood vessel, usually where it branches.
As blood passes through the weakened blood vessel, blood pressure causes a small area to bulge outward like a balloon.
An aneurysm can develop in any blood vessel in the body, but the two most common locations are the artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body and the brain.
After undergoing emergency surgery, they attempted to bring Barbara out of her coma, which was initially successful.
But after she had difficulty breathing on her own, doctors had to perform a tracheostomy and re-sedate her.
Barbara has been in the hospital for more than two weeks now and is still in a coma.
Destiny said her grandmother’s insurance won’t pay for her trip home to the UK because she “forgot” to declare all the medications she was taking.
Barbara is pictured with her late husband Peter.
Barbara appears in the photo with her granddaughter.
When Barbara wakes up, she says that her grandmother may be left with severe disabilities due to the ruptured aneurysm and that she needs 24-hour care.
Destiny said: “It was terrible when we found out we would have to try to get her home on our own.”
‘(Your insurance doesn’t cover it), all because you forgot to mention a couple of medications on your formulary.
‘I have been told I could be left with severe disabilities and need 24-hour care.
‘This is really scary and I know she wouldn’t want to live like this.
‘She is a very sociable person and loves to go out and be with her friends.
‘If this is the case, it would be really heartbreaking as she doesn’t want to live her life like this. She loves to go on vacation.
‘It would be great to have a home for the whole family.
“She means a lot to us and she’s the most amazing grandmother in the world and she raised me.”
