Yahoo News Mum given 50/50 chance of survival after 'nightmare' gastric sleeve op in Turkey
An NHS healthcare assistant is trapped in a Turkish hospital after undergoing gastric sleeve surgery. Chloe Quick, 23, had initially thought the operation had been successful after going under the knife last Friday, April 26.
But post-surgery complications caused her to collapse with an endoscopy indicating a 'ruptured' spleen, triggered by the fall. Medics cautioned Chloe's father that she had just a 50/50 chance of survival.
But thankfully Chloe is now recuperating although she is required to remain at the Istanbul's private clinic until she's fit to return home to the West Midlands.
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Loved ones initially believed there would be no extra charges, yet it's been revealed that the steep medical bill is currently £5,000 and could escalate.
Leah Mattson, 23, a friend of Chloe who has also undergone gastric sleeve surgery at a different clinic in Turkey, set up a GoFundMe page to help with the costs. Speaking to Birmingham Live, she said 'it breaks my heart and eats me up' that what was supposed to be a life-changing procedure turned into a 'nightmare'.
Leah shared: "Chloe is now out of ICU and is back in her hospital recovery room. She'll have to stay there a bit longer because of the risk of blood clots if she gets on a plane too soon.
She unfortunately couldn't afford the price of the company I went with, which cost £3,400. She's always been stressed with money and worked so hard to save up. She might have to stay another week - it all depends on her healing. The hospital has just thrown the £5,000 bill at her and that's not the end of it. That's the care up until today but obviously, she's going to be there longer."
On the donation page, Leah posted: "They had to perform emergency surgery to re-do the sleeve and repair her spleen. They had to put her into a medically induced coma. The staff told Chloe's dad that there was a 50/50 chance of her pulling through this and the next 24 hours were crucial, this was life or death for Chloe, her family and close friends had been so worried the last few days not knowing if she was going to make it home to her two-year-old son.
"Chloe has always been concerned about finances, and the only fear she had prior to her surgery was parting with such a large sum of money. She never imagined that she would come so close to not returning home. The hospital assured Chloe's father that there would be no charges, but they have since demanded £5,000 for the care provided up until now.
"She needs to stay longer to recover before it's safe for her to fly, so they've said the cost will be even higher. I feel sick for her; she nearly lost her life, and now they're demanding money she doesn't have.
"Chloe is the last person to ask for help when she needs it. She worked tirelessly, taking on extra shifts at the hospital, to save this money for the surgery. Chloe works as NHS bank staff, which means she's on a zero-hour contract. Although she usually works between 37-50 hours a week, she's not contracted or substantive staff, which means the only pay she'll receive while off work is SSP (roughly £400 a month). That won't even cover her rent, let alone bills, food, childcare expenses. As we all know, £400 is impossible to live off in this day and age, especially with a two year old son."
Any help is appreciated and even a share if you can't financially contribute would mean the world to Chloe's family. To donate to the fund, please click here.
