Alan Kirby is in a hospital in Greece(Image: Phoebe Hobbs)A British dad is stuck in Greece with pneumonia and suspected cancer after a dream holiday turned into a nightmare earlier this month.
Alan Kirby, 67, had flown to the holiday hotspot with his family on Thursday, July 3, but soon became unwell and was shocked to learn he may have cancer.
Alan, from Somerset, checked into a clinic on Sunday, July 6 and was told he needed antibiotics for a chest infection. However, as reported by Somerset Live, after being transferred to a hospital his step-daughter says he was bluntly told “antibiotics won’t cure cancer”.
Liza Whitmore says he needs to be home in the UK for a biopsy, where doctors will be able to confirm a cancer diagnosis and give more details plus a prognosis. However, while Alan’s insurance covered a flight from Zante Hospital to a general hospital in Athens, it does not cover a flight to the UK.
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He is now being treated for pneumonia, but needs to be home for cancer treatment, according to his family. Liza, who was forced to go home to the UK without him, said: “Time is not on our side. If it is cancer, we need to get him home for treatment.”
Liza has approached the British Embassy for help, but they were not able to finance Alan’s return to the UK. They advised her to set up a fundraiser to cover costs for his treatment in Greece and for a flight home.
At time of writing, the fundraiser has raised £1,703. However, Liza owes €14,194.74 to Athens Hospital where he is still being treated with half of it due today and the other half due in August – and more still is needed for a flight home.
Liza has warned others about planning carefully before going on holiday.
She says they did not declare a benign tumour that Alan was diagnosed with the year previously as he felt well and they did not believe it was relevant – but now it appears this declaration failure has made their insurance void.
She also urged people going abroad to remember to bring a valid EHIC card (European Health Insurance Card), to declare everything on their travel insurance application and to request a ‘fit to fly’ certificate if necessary.
You can support Alan’s fundraiser online.