The family of a British man who is in a coma in Turkey have appealed for help paying his medical bills, which are set to exceed £80,000.
Mark Dixon, from Ashton-under-Lyne, had been enjoying his retirement alongside his wife Brenda in Turkey when the unthinkable happened and he suffered three cardiac arrests.
The 60-year-old was rushed to a Turkish hospital on November 19, 2022 and was placed into a coma as his condition began to deteriorate.
But he sadly hasn't woken up since and now his life insurance won't cover his costs as medical bills are increasing by the day.
Mark's family say that doctors believe he has suffered brain damage and will never be able to function independently.
But they claim that they've been told Islamic law will not allow him to be taken off of life support - leaving them in an agonising state of limbo.
“I know people live with brain damage,” his stepdaughter, Nicola Jackson, told Manchester Evening News. “But he wouldn’t be awake. There would be no quality of life to him, no quality of life for my mum. I don’t understand the logic. It baffles me.
“This could go on for years. I know it should be anything to do with the money, but it’ll end up killing my mum with the stress. They did some brain scans and they said he isn’t brain dead but there’s only very small brain activity."
She added: “They thought he might wake up, but as time goes on, there is less chance of him going back to his normal state. We asked him if they expect him to wake up and they said no. And if he did wake up, he would still be in that state.
“He would be in bed. He wouldn’t be able to breathe on his own, eat on his own or go to the bathroom on his own. It’s just awful. I’ve been back and forth to Turkey as much as I can.
“They’ve tried to take him off the ventilator several times and he can breathe for about 20 minutes then they have to put him back on. He goes into panic. Mark wouldn’t want to live – he wouldn’t want to put his family and my mum through that. He wouldn’t even know us."
Mark and Brenda had been living in Turkey for nine months when Mark became suddenly unwell at his home in Icmeler.
At first, he lost his appetite and began feeling extremely lethargic but after lying in bed for several hours things took a turn for the worst as he got up to use the bathroom.
Brenda, 70, had been making dinner when she heard Mark shout for an ambulance and quickly called emergency services.
He was initially taken to a private hospital and doctors told Brenda that they thought he was suffering from renal failure, a condition where the kidneys stop working.
But Mark, a retired factory supervisor who had no pre-existing health conditions, had actually suffered a cardiac arrest.
As the hospital didn't have specialist treatment or an intensive care bed, Mark was transferred to a state hospital in Aydin, around three hours away from his home.
Unfortunately, he then went into cardiac arrest twice more during the journey and has now been in a coma for almost three months, despite attempts to reduce his sedation and wake him up.
Nicola estimates Mark's medical bills will breach £80,000 but says his insurance policy won't cover his care because the claim was made within 12 months of the policy starting.
She says that her family are desperate to bring Mark back to the UK in an attempt to save his life.
“I’m not saying they haven’t looked after him in Turkey because the care has been really good," Nicola said.
“But if we could bring him back to the UK, then at least he’s back in the UK. We have asked the question about moving him either to nearer to their home or back to the UK, but the consultants have said it’s too risky. We just have to take it day by day.”
Nicola, who lives in Audenshaw, has set up a GoFundMe campaign to help raise funds to take "a little bit of pressure" off her mum during this tragic situation.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: “We have provided support to the family of a British man who was hospitalised in Turkey.”
