Woman, 24, stranded overseas after being critically injured in horse riding accident
A young woman who was seriously injured while riding a horse in the United Arab Emirates will be stranded there until she can pay off her huge medical bill.
Rebecca (Becca) Chisholm, 24, a school teacher from England had been living and working in the Middle Eastern country when her mother had flown over to visit for her daughter’s birthday.
The pair had been having a “fabulous time catching up and seeing the sites” and on May 10 had gone horse riding, a family friend said on a GoFundMe page.
“Becca’s horse bolted and she was thrown violently from the horse. She landed badly and sustain[ed] serious head injuries,” the page read.
Her mother Wendy Skelton had found her daughter unconscious. When she eventually did wake up, the 24-year-old told her mum she was “dying”.
After being airlifted to Rashid Hospital in Dubai, scans revealed Ms Chisholm had suffered multiple skull fractures at the base of her skull and a brain haemorrhage.
She spent the next three days in a coma and in critical condition with her mum never leaving her side. The young woman also needed to undergo emergency surgery on two separate occasions to stem the bleed on her brain and relieve the pressure.
Now, the family of two are facing a medical bill of $A110,000.
“The bills are now mounting and whilst the medical staff are now talking about releasing Becca for a specialised flight back to a UK hospital for continued care, Wendy will not be allowed to leave Dubai until the full bill has been paid,” their GoFundMe page read.
“The British Embassy has provided no support whatsoever for these two British nationals now stranded in a desperate state, thousands of miles from home.”
Ms Chisholm had finally regained consciousness, but the family friend said she likely faced years to recover from the traumatic brain injury, and added that it remained uncertain whether the young woman will “ever be able to teach again.”
In addition to the $A110,000 medical bill Ms Skelton faced, in order to fly her daughter back to the UK she also needed an estimated $A55,000.
The page raised more than $A22,000 in the first 24 hours out of the $A55,000 goal, The Sun reported. By Monday evening AEST, the page had surpassed $A30,000.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo’s daily newsletter. Sign up here.
