Gran trapped in coma in Corfu after flight caused brain aneurysm

A woman suffered a brain aneurysm while jetting off on a family holiday that her family fears was caused by the plane's cabin pressure - leaving her stranded in a coma miles from home.

Barbara Wilkinson had boarded the flight from East Midlands Airport to Corfu with her 13-year-old granddaughter Tamara Wilkinson and a close friend. But after setting off on the three-hour plane journey, the 68-year-old reportedly began coughing and then fell asleep into a 'comatose' state.

The former singer and entertainer was then put into the recovery position in the aisle space and the pilot made an emergency landing in Croatia so Barbara could be rushed to hospital. At first, it was suspected that Barbara had suffered a stroke but following a CT scan at Zadar General Hospital, it was confirmed she had experienced a 'life threatening' brain aneurysm.

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She was then transferred to University Hospital Centre Zagreb for emergency surgery and remains in a coma there as her insurance doesn't cover the costs to fly her back to the UK. Destiny Jordan, Barbara's granddaughter, was at work when she found out about her grandma's condition and said she feared her gran would die.

The 20-year-old says the family believes Barbabra's aneurysm could have ruptured due to the flight's cabin pressure. The customer service advisor has now set up a GoFundMe page to try to raise the £35,000 needed to get grandma home safely to continue her recovery in the UK.

Destiny, from Aspley in Nottingham, said: "She had a flight in the morning and got to the airport fine and was with my sister and one of her close friends. She got on the flight fine and then she just took a nap on the plane.

"[At some point on the flight] my sister gave her a sweet and she started coughing. They thought she might have been choking on a sweet at first. When my sister looked over to her she was coughing with her eyes open and they got a bit worried.

"She then went back to sleep and then woke up and started coughing with her eyes open again. She went back to sleep a third time but then my sister tried to wake her up and she wouldn't wake up. At first, they thought it was a stroke. The flight attendant must have spoken to the pilot and that is when they let everyone know that the plane was going to make an emergency landing in Croatia. When they landed she was taken straight in an ambulance to hospital.

"As soon as she got to the hospital, she went into a coma herself but they put her on medication to keep her in the coma. They did a head CT scan and confirmed she had a brain aneurysm.

"They found out it was a ruptured aneurysm and it was a severe one and counted as life threatening. She then needed emergency surgery and she was moved to another hospital. This surgery was to [treat] the bleed.

"I was at work at the time when I found out about my grandma. I had a panic attack and was in tears straight away. I just wanted to get my grandma home and I did worry that she was going to die. They [doctors] haven't told us why it happened, we only assume that it was an aneurysm that was already there and then the pressure in the cabin made this rupture."

According to the NHS an aneurysm is a bulge in a blood vessel caused by a weakness in the blood vessel wall, usually where it branches. As blood passes through the weakened blood vessel, the blood pressure causes a small area to bulge outwards like a balloon.

An aneurysm can develop in any blood vessel in the body but the two most common places are the artery that transports blood away from the heart to the rest of the body and the brain. After undergoing emergency surgery, they tried to bring Barbara out of her coma which was successful at first.

But after she struggled to breath on her own, doctors had to perform a tracheostomy and put her back under sedation. Barbara has now been in hospital for over two weeks and remains in a coma.

Destiny said her grandma's insurance will not pay to fly her home to the UK as she 'forgot' to declare all the medications she was taking. When Barbara wakes up, she may be left with severe disabilities from the ruptured aneurysm and need round the clock care.

Destiny said: "It was terrible when we found out we would have to try and get her home on our own. [Her insurance doesn't cover her], all because she forgot to mention a couple of medications on her form.

"They have told me that she could be left with severe disabilities and need round the clock care. This is really scary and I know she wouldn't want to live like this.

"She's a very social person and loves going out and being with her friends. If this is the case this would be really heartbreaking as this isn't how she wants to live her life. She loves going on holiday

"It would mean the absolute world to have her home for the whole family. She means the world to us and she is the most amazing grandma in the world and raised me."

To donate to Destiny GoFundMe page for Barbara, follow the link here: https://gofund.me/a76c8a53