A 15-year-old British girl has been left in a serious condition after being struck by a paraglider while on holiday in Turkey.
Lily Nichol, from Chester-le-Street, County Durham, was having a meal with family when she was injured on the last day of her trip to Oludeniz on Friday (November 8).
Mum Lyndsey Logan said Lily had been eating pizza at a restaurant when the paraglider came out of nowhere.
She told the BBC: “Next thing we knew, my daughter was just unconscious on the floor. I was just screaming, crying for help. I thought she was dead.”
Lily has been left with four breaks to her spine, a broken jaw, a split tongue, an injured eye and “wobbly” teeth, which will need to be replaced, according to Ms Logan.
Fortunately, doctors’ warnings Lily suffered a bleed on the brain turned out to be inaccurate, with a scan confirming she didn’t suffer any serious head injuries.
Lily’s sister, Megan, 19, was knocked unconscious by the paraglider, but her injuries weren’t as bad, according to her mum.
Ms Logan told the BBC she hadn’t taken out travel insurance for the trip, leaving the family with a bill which could amount to thousands.
So far, Lily’s father has paid £7,200 for treatment, but surgery to her back and jaw would add another £45,000 to her medical bill.
Ms Logan said the family doesn’t have the money for the surgery her daughter is due to have on Monday (November 11).
In a bid to help cover the costs, the family has set up an online fundraiser. At the time of writing, more than £21,000 had been pledged towards the £45,000 target.
Ms Logan wrote on GoFundMe that the family’s lives have been ripped apart by what happened, with their “little girl” now lying in a hospital bed in Turkey.
She added: “We can’t afford to pay for her operation. I’m begging for help. Our family is doing our best to get the funds together. It’s really impossible. Lily is in a really bad way.”
The Foreign Office said it is supporting a British girl and her family following an incident in Turkey.
