Mum nearly crushed to death on waterslide during holiday
A mum-of-two claims she narrowly avoided death on holiday after being “squashed by an obese woman” on a waterslide.
Jemma Joslyn, 32, paid about $5000 for an all-inclusive two-week holiday at Liberty Lykia Hotel in Turkey last September with her two children before their trip turned into a living nightmare.
After using the five-star hotel’s onsite water park, Ms Joslyn was left fighting for her life after she claims another holidaymaker hurtled down the waterslide and slammed into her, crushing her internal organs.
The mum was rushed to hospital suffering from a split liver, internal bleeding and severe kidney damage.
Ms Joslyn underwent lifesaving surgery and spent the next eight days recovering in Turkey before returning home to England.
She has been left with a huge scar down her stomach and still suffers from the consequences of her kidney damage as she only has one of the organ due to donating the other to her mum in 2015.
Ms Joslyn is now taking legal action against Thomas Cook after claiming that there were no safety precautions in place at the hotel to monitor who was coming down the slide and that her aftercare was “appalling”.
“This holiday was my first in four years with my two girls and it was a big treat,” the health care assistant said.
“I’d been in Turkey for only 14 hours when we’d decided to go to the water park at the hotel.
“There was no staff to direct anyone on the slides but I’d told my two young children to wait 10 seconds between each other so they could get out of the way.
“My daughter was supposed to follow me down afterwards but instead an overweight woman came down the slide just moments after me.”
Ms Joslyn said when she reached the bottom of the slide, all she saw were two feet coming towards her.
“I knew there was no way I could move in time,” she said.
“I was thrown backwards in the water, and my eyes were rolling back into my head.
“I was coming in and out of conscious as the pain was so severe.
“It was horrific – an English translator told me after an emergency CT scan, my only option was emergency surgery.”
Ms Joslyn claims she was told her insurance didn’t cover the hospital care as she had been taken to a private hospital.
“I had only taken $270 with me as we were all inclusive, but now I needed $9200 to have lifesaving surgery,” she said.
“My friend, Bill, thankfully was able to pay for it as I couldn’t have it until it was paid.
“If my friends hadn’t been there, I would be dead and my children would have been in Turkey alone.”
After the almost fatal incident – which resulted in a three-day stay in an intensive care unit in Turkey, followed by a further five days on a ward – Ms Joslyn claims that Thomas Cook did nothing to help.
“My children were hit with a vomiting bug that had swept through the hotel soon after my accident,” she said.
“No extra support was offered and my mum, 59, had to plead with Thomas Cook to get both herself and my dad, 76, to Turkey.
“But they weren’t warned about the contagious bug and were taken to the hotel.
“When my mum rang the 24-hour emergency line, the staff didn’t know anything and had no idea where my children were.”
A spokesman for Thomas Cook said both the UK-based welfare team and the in-resort team had been in touch with Ms Joslyn on several occasions following this accident.
“We also arranged for her parents to fly to Turkey to be with their daughter,” the spokesperson said.
Solicitor Magdalena Knez, from Slater and Gordon, who is representing Ms Joslyn’s legal case, said Thomas Cook confirmed they received the firm’s correspondence and were looking into the case.
“We are waiting on a further response and are hopeful we will have a successful outcome for Jemma who has been through a very traumatic experience,” the solicitor said.
