A man's last minute holiday quickly unravelled into a 'nightmare' after a minibus ploughed into him and left him with multiple fractures to his spine.
Dean Ellis, 39, who works as an electrical engineer across Greater Manchester, has been bed bound in Hospiten Sur, a hospital in Tenerife, since the horrific accident on February 17.
He vividly remembers the headlights glaring towards him as he crossed the road moments before the crash, before waking up in the middle of the road 'surrounded by blood and paramedics'.
Dean, who luckily had insurance covered for the trip, is now trying to secure a medical repatriation flight home to be back with his family. He had booked the last minute trip as a holiday after recently falling ill and to celebrate his birthday earlier this month, flying out on February 14.
He told the Manchester Evening News: "I had been down to the beach for something to eat and had a pint before walking back to my hotel to chill around the pool. I came to a zebra crossing, and an eight seater minibus came off the dual carriageway at a speed.
"All I remembered was seeing the headlights coming towards me getting brighter and hearing the engine noise. It happened in a split second. I then remember hitting my head and then waking up in the road surrounded by blood and paramedics."
Following the collision, Dean, who used to live in Manchester city centre, said the driver of the taxi accepted responsibility, and that he had been in his 'blind spot' when crossing the road beside a busy roundabout.
He was immediately rushed to hospital and has remained there for ten days and is forced to now wear a back brace. He was supposed to be returning on February 21 - but is still in agonising pain and desperate to get home.
"The impact of the crash was taken on my right hand side on my back," Dean added. "I woke up completely out of breath and was completely winded. I eventually came round and the adrenaline had taken over. Loads of witnesses were running over to me as they had seen what happened.
"As far as hospital experiences go, everyone has been amazing. I can't fault my treatment or the nurses. The most difficult thing that has upset me is being here on my own, without my family by my side."
After a few days, Dean's mum Karen dropped everything to catch a flight out to Tenerife to be with him. But due to a festival in the area, no hotels had any vacancies, forcing her to fork out 140 euros a night to stay beside the hospital with him.
The 39-year-old sustained three fractures to his spine, a head injury and internal bruising. He has only just been able to get out of the hospital bed and walk around, along with the help of his mum. However, if it wasn't for his height and build, doctors told him the crash could've been fatal.
"I've really had a bad 12 months to be honest and was really looking forward to the trip. It was my little break away and last minute, and it's turned into a nightmare," he said.
"I am covered in cuts and bruises from head to toe. There's a lot of internal bruising, a huge gash with five stitches on the back of my head and three fractures to my spine. I'm 6ft 2ins, if i wasn't built like that, I could've died.
"I have been sat in bed unable to do much else. I just want to be at home with my family. The most important message to take from all of this is not to go away without insurance. For the sake of £20 you could save yourself thousands of pounds worth of issues."
A fundraising page was set up by Dean's friends to help his mum pay for her stay overseas to be with him, and to help support Dean upon his return, as he could potentially be off work for 12 weeks whilst his fractures heal. See here.
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