Jade Bird was rushed to hospital after getting ill in Tenerife (Image: SWLNspain)
A mother from Wales has awoken from a coma in a hospital in Spain after contracting meningitis while on holiday. Jade Bird, 33, a carer from Abergele, was meant to fly home from Tenerife last Wednesday but fell critically ill while at the airport. She was rushed to hospital where doctors discovered an infection in her brain that had developed into meningitis.
Her sister-in-law, Victoria, flew to the island to be with her while the family anxiously awaited updates. Victoria said: « She flew out to Tenerife with her boyfriend for a holiday.
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A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover the cost of her medical evacuation (Image: SWLNspain)
« While they were there, she was complaining of earache, then she started being sick.
« When they got to the airport, she was unable to communicate and she was screaming in pain, so they took her to the hospital.
« When they got there, they did a CT scan and found she had an infection on her brain, so they transferred her to an ICU in the north of Tenerife, put her on a ventilator, and she’s been there ever since.
« They then found out that it’s turned into meningitis, and she’s been quite heavily sedated the last two or three days.
« There was concern of seizures and epilepsy, memory loss, paralysis – we still don’t know the full extent of all this right now, until she wakes up completely. »
After about a week in an induced coma, Jade has begun to come and her family have described her as being « much more alert and aware of her surroundings. »
Ms Bird who has a young daughter named Skyla, remains in hospital. Despite having appropriate insurance her family were quoted £46,000 for a medical evacuation back home. She will be moved to a neurological ward for a full assessment and will need to continue IV antibiotics before she can travel home.
Victoria added: « Myself and her mum flew out the following morning after we found out.
« At some point, me and her mum are going to get to a stage where we can’t afford to stay here, but how do we go home?
« The communication just isn’t there – there’s a language barrier and we only get updates once a day. It’s not something we can even comprehend right now. »
The family has launched a GoFundMe to pay for Jade’s flight back home which has raised £12,000 so far.
Victoria said: « It’s been really stressful.
« It’s been absolutely heartbreaking telling her daughter that she’s unable to see mummy because she’s in the hospital.
« We struggle every day and we just hope every day when we walk in to see her that she’s a bit more alert. »
The family has a « long road ahead », but is grateful for the public’s support and is determined to do whatever it takes to bring Jade home safely.
Ms Bird’s sister-in-law added: « We’re overwhelmed with all the kindness. People have been so thoughtful and everybody has pulled together to raise money to get Jade home and we don’t think that any words will ever thank them enough. »
A link to the GoFundMe can be found here.
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