Boy, 11, and his family are trapped in Turkey after he broke his leg and was denied proper hospital care and pain relief by doctors in a series of shocking blunders – as friends launch campaign to ‘bring him home’
- Vinnie Kilburn, 11, from Leicestershire, broke his leg on a family holiday to Turkey
- Six days after his family asked to be repatriated, he remains stuck in a hotel room
An 11-year-old boy who broke his leg on a family holiday to Turkey was left without pain relief or proper care because the hospital insisted on seeing money from his family’s insurers first.
Vinnie Kilburn, a promising rugby player from a family of internationals, remains stuck in a Turkish hotel room six days after the family asked to be repatriated.
Now his frantic parents, Tom and Julie, are caught in a dilemma with the insurance company telling them that his broken leg must have a smaller cast fitted while the surgeon who worked on the leg advises them against the move.
They have even launched a ‘Bring Vinnie Home’ Facebook page in a desperate bid to get back to Leicestershire.
His Dad, Tom, a sales manager and rugby coach, said: ‘We had proper insurance with Holiday Extras, MayDay Assist but when we needed it, the care wasn’t there. We feel totally failed by them.
Vinnie Kilburn, a promising rugby player from Leicestershire, remains stuck in a Turkish hotel room six days after the family asked to be repatriated
Insurers have told Vinnie’s parents his leg needs to be re-cast so it is below the knee before he can take a flight home, but the operating surgeon refuses to do so
‘On the night it happened the hospital put a splint on his leg but then just left him in agony, not following the guidance of the doctor to ice the leg and keep it raised and with no pain relief because they needed confirmation from the insurance which didn’t come until the next day.
‘Then we weren’t allowed to board the flight home they arranged for us and now Vinnie is trapped on a hotel bed with no functioning wheelchair and the insurance company telling us one thing and the surgeon another.’
The family’s weeklong break to Antalya’s Senza The Inn Resort and Spa fell apart just after lunch last Tuesday when Vinnie slipped on the way to the water slide and broke his left leg.
After only two days of relaxation, they suddenly found themselves in the middle of a nightmare.
Mum Julie, 47, a graphic designer, said: ‘The lack of care started immediately. Vinnie was in huge pain but had pulled himself up onto one of the water slide platforms. Then for 30 minutes, until the ambulance arrived, they kept the ride open with other kids and adults were stepping over him.’
The family were taken to a hospital where he was x-rayed before being transferred to a local hospital to see a specialist orthopedic doctor for a splint to be fitted.
‘The care there was non-existent,’ said Julie. ‘They put a full-leg splint on him but said he didn’t need an operation and should stay in overnight. It turned into the worst night of my life.
‘They didn’t ice his leg or raise it properly as the doctor had requested and they left Vinnie lying in his wet swim shorts on a damp bed.
The family’s weeklong break to Antalya’s Senza The Inn Resort and Spa fell apart just after lunch last Tuesday when Vinnie (pictured) slipped on the way to the water slide and broke his left leg
Vinnie, pictured with his parents Tom and Julie, who are caught in a dilemma with the insurance company telling them his broken leg must have a smaller cast fitted while a surgeon disagrees
‘Then the urine bottle slipped and made the whole bed even wetter and when I asked for help some men came in and tried to move him but he was screaming so much in pain that they shoved a towel under him and left him.
‘In the end I had to cut his swimming shorts off with some paper scissors they leant me. We asked for pain relief but were told that would have to wait until they heard from the insurance company.’
The following day, contact was made with the insurance firm and Vinnie was discharged with a ‘fit to fly’ certificate and the family hoped to make their original flight home booked for Saturday morning.
But the insurance firm then rang to say his leg would have to be re-cast because it was ‘too long’.
‘We then went to a third hospital,’ said Tom, ‘where we saw an excellent surgeon, Firat Yaman, who was shocked by what had happened. He said it was a serious fracture, that he needed a full leg case and that Vinnie should have been operated on immediately
‘This confirmed our fears about the other hospital. We then had to wait another 12 hours for the insurance to give clearance and for the operation to take place.’
A new Easyjet flight home was then arranged for Sunday and the family went by ambulance to the airport longing for home.
Tom said: ‘We waited three hours at the airport and it became clear they did not have a suitable wheelchair to take Vinnie through from the ambulance.
Vinnie plays fly-half at Market Bosworth Rugby Club and is part of the Next Level Rugby academy near Leicester
‘This porter then told the ground crew that Vinnie needed a stretcher so that meant he could not fly and they refused to let us on.
‘I tried to find the duty manager for Easyjet but it was no good.
‘We were then taken by ambulance to a different hotel, the Swandor Topkapi Palace, where Vinnie was transferred onto a hotel bed and that is where he has stayed ever since.
‘The wheelchair they have given us is for a small child and he doesn’t fit onto it. He is feeling very frustrated as he is confined to the hotel room and we still don’t know when we can get home.
‘The Insurance company say his leg needs to be re-cast before a flight so it is below the knee and the surgeon is telling us not to do this. It’s a nightmare.’
Vinnie, who is cousins with English women’s rugby legend Emily Scarratt MBE as well as the great Welsh centre Steve Fenwick, had just marked the end of his life at primary school.
He plays fly-half at Market Bosworth RFC and is part of the Next Level Rugby academy near Leicester.
‘We just feel trapped here now,’ said Julie. ‘Vinnie is going out of his mind. He felt a bit better when some friends saw on Facebook what had happened and messaged him but it is really tough. We just want to get home.’
A spokesperson for Holiday Extras said: ‘Holiday Extras takes all claims of this nature extremely seriously and has been working with the underwriters of the family’s policy and their medical assistance provider, Mayday Assistance, to find the appropriate solution for this complex case as quickly as possible.’
A spokesperson for the underwriters said: ‘We can confirm is in direct communication with the family and is assessing all options for them to return home safely as soon as possible.’
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