A mother’s bargain trip to Turkey turned into a living nightmare after she was left unable to walk and facing soaring medical bills.
Chloe Mackie, of Lancashire, had to spend a whopping £9,000 to return home after enduring a horrifying freak accident while on a bucket list holiday.
Having dreamed about swimming with dolphins as a child, she could hardly believe her luck when she first came across an for the excursion in Turkey.
But the 37-year-old’s life was forever altered after a speeding motorbike crashed into both her and her nine-year-old son, leaving her with life-changing injuries and at risk of being unable to walk properly again.
Recounting the terrifying ordeal in October 2023, Ms Mackie, a former youth engagement worker, said: ‘I was catapulted into the air and landed with a thump on the ground.
‘My legs splayed like a pair of scissors as agonising pain shot through me.
‘I tried to frantically move myself to see if anybody else had been hit – but I couldn’t stand.’
Describing the ‘horrifying’ moment she caught glimpse of her injured son, she added: ‘I dragged my body over the tarmac and held him in my arms as blood trickled down his face.
‘When he started moving and asked for me, I was relieved. But then I realised my legs had gone entirely numb – and the reality set in.’
Prior to the tragic accident, Ms Marie had arrived at the venue for her excursion too early and, while waiting, she decided to take her sons and mother to a nearby restaurant across the road.
However, despite checking both directions and waiting until the lights turned red, a speeding motorbike failed to stop in time.
The collision left her with two broken bones in her lower leg, alongside damage to the joint between her knee.
Her son, fortunately, walked away from the incident with just a few cuts and grazes.
While medical professionals advised Ms Marie that she would require emergency surgery, this came at an eye-watering cost of £1,200.
Describing the pain as ‘excruciating’, Ms Marie said that she was eventually able to raise funds for the emergency procedure following support from friends and family.
But, her nightmare ordeal was not yet over.
Ms Marie’s operation was unfortunately not carried out correctly. And, as a result, she is currently unable to walk properly.
It is likely she will be unable to ever walk again.
She was then forced to fork out £9,000 on a ‘Fit to Fly’ document to board a flight home, which her father took out as early inheritance from his mother’s will.
Describing her trip to Turkey as a ‘nightmare come true’, Ms Marie added: ‘I felt helpless.
‘I went into a state of panic as I truly didn’t know where I would get that money from in such a short amount of time.
‘After a frantic moment, I phoned my dad, who said he would book a solicitor appointment and ask to take his inheritance early from my grandma’s will.
‘He also used some of his hard-earned savings.
‘It made me feel so guilty, as that money wasn’t mine – it was for his future.’
The mother-of-two said that borrowing the money has placed a ‘huge strain’ on both her and her father’s relationship, as he is now struggling financially each month.
Moreover, in another brutal blow, Ms Marie later discovered that the biker was not going to be prosecuted for his actions that fateful day.
She is now set to undergo another procedure to regain more movement in her leg, though her dream of swimming with dolphins will now sadly ‘never come true’.
Revealing the traumatic impact the collision has had on her emotionally, she added: ‘Whenever we go out now, I tense at busy roads and sometimes can’t bring myself to cross.
‘It should have been a memorable, happy holiday.
‘But instead, it was a nightmare come true. We will never go to Turkey again.’