British father fighting for life in coma after falling 30ft from Lanzarote hotel balcony
3 June 2023, 09:43
A British dad fell from his hotel balcony in Lanzarote just hours after arriving and is fighting for his life in a coma.
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Dan Boyle, 31, fell 30 feet off the balcony on the first night of his holiday with his girlfriend, her sister and her partner in the Canary Islands on April 23.
Mr Boyle was rushed to hospital with broken ribs, a fractured skull and a broken breastbone.
He had pneumonia, although he was unaware of this, and his family believe this caused his heart to stop and his lungs to fill with fluid, leading him to fall over the edge.
Mr Boyle was resuscitated on the pavement and was flown to Gran Canaria for emergency surgery to relieve pressure on his skull.
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The father-of-two has since been in an induced coma over the last three weeks. Ms Lomas has flown home to their children, who were being looked after by their grandparents.
Mr Boyle's girlfriend Ashleigh Lomas is fundraising along with his family to get Mr Boyle a specialist flight back to the UK. Their insurance is covering his medical treatment abroad, but not the flight.
Toni said the couple's insurance has covered the ongoing costs of his healthcare, but won't pay for the specialist medical flight back home.
The father-of-two currently remains in hospital while Ashleigh returned home to Stockport to their children, who were in the care of their grandparents, three days ago.
Family friend Toni Albiston has launched a fundraiser to pay for the specialist flight home for Mr Boyle.
Toni said in the fundraiser: "Dan was on the balcony and Ashleigh was inside the other room talking to her sister. This was on the first night.
"They had only been there for about six hours or so. Ashleigh came out to look for Dan and looked over the balcony to see him being resuscitated.
"We have been told a nurse was walking out of the hotel at the time and resuscitated him then called for help.
"When he got to hospital, Ashleigh was told that he had had a chest infection which was pneumonia.
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"It caused his lungs to fill up with fluid and his heart to stop. They have told Ashleigh that it is possible that he is not going to be the same person when he gets better."
"He was flown over to Gran Canaria and was told he may not make the flight."But he made it there and went straight for brain surgery for a fractured skull and to relieve pressure on his brain.
"Then it was a case of getting the fluid drained from his lungs. He was on oxygen and in an induced coma for the past three weeks.
"His lungs are now stable and he is off sedation, but is still unresponsive. We don't know if he's going to be the same person due to the brain damage."
The fundraiser has raised £4,800 of its £35,000 target as of Saturday morning. You can donate here.
