Family face £40k bill after dying mum stuck in Fuerteventura for final holiday

A dying mum from the West Midlands is currently stuck in a Spanish hospital after flying out to Fuerteventura for one final holiday. Lavelle Crutchley from Staffordshire is terminally ill with liver failure and travelled to the Canary Islands with her two sons and brother.

StokeonTrentLive reported that Lavelle took a turn for the worst and ended up in hospital. Her family has been told they have a £40,000 bill to get her home via helicopter. She has been on the island for three weeks and is receiving end-of-life care.

A GoFundMe page has been launched by her mother Julie Hankey to raise funds. The fundraiser currently stands at £1,995.

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Julie told StokeonTrentLive: "We are doing everything we can to raise the £40,000 to get Lavelle home to her family. We're limited in time and we've still got to raise around £16,000 of the cost.

"Family members, and both mine and Lavelle's son's employers, have been very generous and have donated lots of money to help us. Me and her two teenage sons have booked a flight to go over to see her next Tuesday because they need to say goodbye.

"If I don't get the money to get her home then she's going to die over there, and we don't want her to die in another country alone. We're very emotional at the moment."

She added: "It's difficult speaking to the hospital because it's a different language, however, the British consul and the social worker who sees Lavelle have been brilliant. But as far as the medical side is concerned, she hasn't got long to live. She's certainly fighting for her life over there though."

Julie added an update today (May 15) on the fundraising page which reads: "Thank you to everyone who has kindly donated we are still a long way off and need every bit of support, the smallest sum will help. People have been so kind and I will be eternally grateful for the donations. Time is crucial for us, please if you are unable to donate share our link. Lavelle is holding her own at the moment but her mood is very low, she's a young mum who wants to come home to her family. Thank you all so much."

To make a donation to bring Lavelle home, visit the GoFundMe page here.

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