A family has been thrown into turmoil after a mum collapsed while on holiday and needed emergency brain surgery in Spain.
Stephanie Williams, from Bishopston, Swansea, was enjoying a family getaway when she fell seriously ill just hours before their flight back to Wales. The mum, 42, remains critically ill in a Spanish hospital nearly a week after her collapse, with her family at her bedside.
The ordeal began last Saturday when Stephanie, her four children and her partner were preparing to head to the airport from their Costa Blanca holiday in Alicante. But around 1am, Stephanie suddenly fell ill in her hotel room and suffered a seizure.
Daughter Aimee reached out to relatives back home to arrange a £3,000 transfer so her mum could start receiving treatment at a nearby Spanish hospital. Aimee told WalesOnline: "Whilst she is being supported in Alicante by my dats, uncles and her partner, I just want to try and do something to help support my family whilst I'm back in Wales.
"My mum is only 42 and me and my brothers and sister need her to wake up and fight to get better so she can come home to us. My mum is the most selfless person in the whole world and has always put others before herself and now I'm asking for help for her when she needs it the most.
"She's worked as a nurse herself, a midwife and then a bereavement midwife supporting families. I want to raise as much money as I can to relieve the financial pressures on my family."
Despite travel insurance eventually covering Stephanie's medical costs, her family had to shoulder thousands of pounds for her tests and urgent brain surgery on Monday June 10. Stephanie's father and brothers joined her partner, keeping a bedside vigil in Alicante.
While the operation was successful, she is still in "very critical condition in intensive care" and it's unclear what her prognosis might be or how long she will need to stay in hospital. The cost of having her loved ones near continues to climb daily. Matters were worsened by the fact that Stephanie lost her mother just two months prior, adding to an already heavy emotional load.
A GoFundMe page has been hastily set up by Stephanie's daughter Aimee and sister-in-law Jade Wright to ease some financial burdens during this difficult period. The page has already received over £15,000 in donations from those moved by Stephanie's story since its creation only days ago.
Thousands of pounds were raised within hours of the page being set up, quickly meeting first one, and then a second target. Overcome with gratitude at the outpouring of aid extended towards her mum, Aimee said: "We honestly can't believe the generosity and support my mum has received. We as a family would like to say a huge thank you for the continued support - I can't believe we have hit our second target of £15,000."
"Although this is a huge amount, my mum is currently self-employed so is therefore having no income whilst in intensive care. The road to recovery will be long and I want to ensure a family member can be with mum in Alicante at all times so she isn't on her own. To try and remove some of the financial pressure for us to do this we are going to increase the target to £20,000, so please keep sharing. If there is any money from the donations left over, once mum is home and better this will be donated to an aneurysm charity."