Alan Kirby, 67, had been on life support in Greece
A British holidaymaker who became stranded in Greece on life support with a £14,000 medical bill has tragically died. Car valeter Alan Kirby, 67, went into septic shock and passed away on Monday his family has announced.
Three days into his holiday Alan thought the discomfort in his side during dinner stemmed from playing with his stepdaughter’s kids in the Zante sea. However when he woke up struggling to breathe he sought medical advice with doctors recommending he return to the UK for a biopsy on a growth in his lung they thought may be cancerous.
However before the family could travel home on Sunday, July 6, Alan’s condition worsened and he had to be put on a ventilator preventing him from boarding a standard passenger flight back to the UK. Instead he was transported by air to a private medical facility in Athens.
His heartbroken relatives had been fundraising for £45,000 to pay for the medical flight home. They raised £9,500 while campaigning to alert others about travel insurance errors. Stay informed on the latest health news by signing up to our newsletter here.
In a recent update on his GoFundMe page his stepdaughter Liza Whitemore, 40, wrote: “We would like to thank all your support and donations over the last eight weeks.
“It comes with great sadness that Alan gained his wings in the night in Athens. We will be heading out to Athens to have a cremation.”
Hospital staff had contacted Alan’s insurance provider who revealed he was aware of the growth – something he said British medics had identified as benign fatty tissue, telling him not to worry.
This rendered it a pre-existing medical condition, which he had not disclosed to his insurers, therefore invalidating his coverage and leaving the family with a £14,000 bill.
He was left on a ventilator in hospital covered by his Global Health Insurance Card, too ill to return home on a standard flight, and without insurance to cover a £45,000 private medical flight back to the UK.
Alan, from Marston Magna, Somerset, was diagnosed with a chest infection and suspected cancer. Following his transfer to a hospital in Athens he was put into a medically-induced coma but he did not wake up.
The funds raised through the appeal will now be used towards his cremation.
Liza, 40, a private care assistant from Wincanton, Somerset, said Alan’s cremation will take place in Athens this Saturday, with family and friends invited to join via a ‘live link’ at the local pub.
She previously explained: “We know we’ve made the mistake [with the insurance] – that’s the problem. My mum had gone into the bank that she had insurance with and they said: ‘Just go on holiday – you don’t have to do anything’. They didn’t know about the mass.
“And he was well before – he was working as a car valeter the day before the holiday.”
