Gran, 76, trapped in Florida after falling sick on ‘last holiday’ in favourite place

A grandmother who took a risk to go on a ‘last holiday’ to her favourite destination is stuck in hospital in the US – and her family are desperately trying to get her home.

76-year-old Patricia Bunting went on holiday to Florida with two of her sons and one grandson earlier this month in what was supposed to be a three-week final trip abroad.

The pensioner, from Wigan, had saved up for the trip for four years and was determined to take a last trip to a place so dear to her and her family.

Due to her existing illnesses of COPD and atrial fibrillation – a heart condition – she was unable to afford travel insurance on top of the cost of the trip as she had been quoted between £3-6,000.

Despite the concerns of daughter Emma Bunting, 40, Patricia went ahead without insurance – and she is now reliant on oxygen in hospital after collapsing in a hotel bathroom.

Emma, who now lives and works in Manchester, told Metro what happened: ‘I didn’t think it was best for her to go away with her health issues but I couldn’t persuade her otherwise.

‘I got a phone call from my brother in a panic saying mum had been rushed to hospital.

‘Mum complained of having very little energy but we thought she might have just overexerted herself.

‘She went to the bathroom and was in there for a while, after my brother checked up on her with no response he found her unconscious.

‘On top of her COPD she’s developed influenza and Covid-19.’

Patricia was due back from her holiday on November 28 but she’s been stuck in hospital since falling ill last week. She spent five days in the ICU before being moved to a critical care ward, where she’s been ever since.

Sadly Patricia has been alone in the US since Thursday, as her sons and grandson had to take their scheduled return flights home due to running out of money and having nowhere else to stay.

Emma has had sporadic contact with her mother, who doesn’t have a mobile phone, and relies on medical staff at the hospital to put them in touch.

She and the family are now fundraising to pay for their mum’s flight home, so she can receive the care she needs with her family close by – but it’s not cheap.

‘The highest estimate we’ve been quoted is £138,500,’ Emma said.

‘We managed to reduce that to £111,000 but that’s way out of our price range. We’re doing everything we can to get her back but financially it’s impossible to do it alone.’

Even a cheaper option, such as accompanied medical care on a commercial flight, would cost the family in the region of £11-15,000, and that’s on top of the medical bills from the hospital in Orlando.

Emma feels she and her family have been placed in an ‘impossible situation’ due to her mother’s decision not to take travel insurance and go on holiday despite her health – and she’s desperate to get Patricia back to Wigan.

She said this was the first and only time her mum has gone on holiday without taking out travel insurance.

‘My dad died in 1993 and our favourite place to go as a family was Florida,’ Emma explained.

‘Mum kept going back up until recent years – she hadn’t been as often as she would like because her health was declining.

‘She took a risk, a lot of people have said she shouldn’t have gone.

‘Mum lived in Wigan all her life. She’s always been a strong and independent person, since dad passed away she raised us all on her own.

‘She’s always been there for us so now we’re trying to be there for her, but we can’t do it on our own.

‘All I want to do is hop on a plane and go to her but we don’t have the funds to get to the US.

‘I don’t want mum passing away in the US or being on her own, I just want her surrounded by her family.’

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