A Brit holidaymaker is in hospital fighting for his life after falling around 30ft from a hotel balcony. Dan Boyle is being treated in Lanzarote after his accident in April, and friends are raising money for his treatment.
The 31-year-old's friends said that his fall was due to an undiagnosed chest infection. He was resuscitated on the pavement below and rushed to hospital.
He was with his partner, Ashleigh Lomas, together with Ashleigh's sister and her partner at the time. The horrific accident happened on their first night in the Canary Islands around six hours after they had landed for a week-long break in the sun, reports the Manchester Evening News.
A friend who has now launched a fundraising appeal to help the young family, that lives in Stockport, said doctors discovered Dan had pneumonia at the time, which he wasn't aware of, and they believed it caused his lungs to fill with fluid. In turn, it led to his heart stopping, resulting in him tumbling from the balcony.
Dan, who lives with Ashleigh and their two children, aged three and eight, but is originally from Offerton, Greater Manchester, fell from three storeys up, around 25 to 30ft. He suffered a fractured skull, a fractured breast bone and ribs in the fall.
Friend Toni Albiston, who has launched a GoFundMe appeal, said Dan was flown over to Gran Canaria - a flight medics feared he might not make - and had surgery to relieve pressure on his skull. The friends flew out on April 23 - with the children staying at home with grandparents - and Dan currently remains in hospital in Gran Canaria.
Toni said their insurance has covered the ongoing costs of his healthcare, but won't fund a specialist medical flight back home to the UK he needs.
She said: "Dan was on the balcony and Ashleigh was inside the other room talking to her sister. This was on the first night.
"They had only been there for about six hours or so. Ashleigh came out to look for Dan and looked over the balcony to see him being resuscitated.
"We have been told a nurse was walking out of the hotel at the time and resuscitated him then called for help. When he got to hospital, Ashleigh was told that he had had a chest infection which was pneumonia.
"It caused his lungs to fill up with fluid and his heart to stop. They have told Ashleigh that it is possible that he is not going to be the same person when he gets better."
Ashleigh returned home to Stockport and the children two days ago. Dan, said Toni, is now stable but can't talk or communicate.
She added in the GoFundMe appeal: "He was flown over to Gran Canaria and was told he may not make the flight. But he made it there and went straight for brain surgery for a fractured skull and to relieve pressure on his brain.
"Then it was a case of getting the fluid drained from his lungs. He was on oxygen and in an induced coma for the past three weeks.
"His lungs are now stable and he is off sedation, but is still unresponsive. We don't know if he's going to be the same person due to the brain damage."
Toni said Dan was now stable enough to fly home, but needed a medical flight and the insurance won't cover it.
"We need to get Dan home to his partner and his two children," she added. "Please help if you can."
Donate to the appeal here.
