Family 'told to say goodbyes' to Brit dad fighting for life in Turkey hospital

The family of a "happy" dad who is fighting for his life in Turkey after a scooter accident earlier this week have been told to fly to the country to say their goodbyes.

John Kearney, 64, had travelled to İçmeler, in Marmaris, for a holiday with his friends in September. But on Tuesday night, while returning to his hotel, he fell off the rental scooter he was riding and hit his head, suffering a serious injury.

He was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital where he is now fighting for his life. His daughter Joanna Kearney described the heartbreaking phone call she received alerting her to what had happened.

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She told the Liverpool Echo: "I got a phone call from his friend who he was with on Tuesday evening. He told me what happened and that dad was in hospital but none of it felt real, it still doesn't feel real now. It's like I'm watching TV and that it's not really happening to me. My brain can't keep up with everything that is going on."

Two days after the accident, on October 2, Joanna says the family were told to fly out to Turkey because hospital staff were going to turn off John's life support machine. The heartbroken daughter said: "We got a phone call to say they [hospital staff] would turn his life support machine off today (Sunday, October 5) and the family had to come and say goodbye.

"Me, my uncle and some friends have flown over to see dad, we're staying in an apartment about an hour away from the hospital. At first the hospital wouldn't let us go in and see him because when we arrived it was outside of visiting hours and then they said he couldn't have visitors on a weekend.

"They eventually let me and my uncle in to see him. We asked for an update and they've said they would reduce the sedation he is on first to see if he has any reflexes and see if there are any signs of brain activity."

Joanna says the family is struggling to understand what is happening to her dad because of the "language barrier" as she explained: "It has been really bad for us. We have no idea what is going on, if he is going to survive or how much hospital bills are going to cost or the costs of getting him home, dead or alive.

"We have so many unanswered questions and because of the language barrier we are struggling to know what is going on. I have children at home who are now having to stay with their dads, and I'm having to be away from them while we deal with this, they don't know what's going on with their grandad, it's just so much to deal with."

Joanna said she has "still not processed" what is happening with her dad and to add to the added stress, Joanna claims her dad's insurance company will not pay out towards the hospital bills because he "wasn't wearing a helmet" at the time of the crash. She says her dad was not given a helmet when he rented the scooter in the resort he was staying. She said: "At first I thought it was odd that he wasn't given a helmet, but now I'm here and walking around I can see that nobody has these helmets on."

Joanna says they will not know the extent of John's injuries until the swelling on his brain goes down. She said: "Once that goes down we will know if he is going to make it. It’s so difficult, it’s soul destroying. I feel quite numb."

The family launched a fundraiser to help them pay for John's medical bills, with the hope of bringing him home to Merseyside. You can donate here.