Elderly Northamptonshire golfer stranded in Portugal after buggy crash faces £12,000 bill to get home
“We are hoping for any support, however big or small, that will allow Alan to make it safely to the John Radcliffe hospital in England and receive the surgery he needs”
An 80-year-old Daventry golfer is stranded in a Portuguese hospital after his golf buggy fell into a ditch.
After years of health problems, Alan Milburn was happy to be back playing golf and was enjoying a trip to Portugal earlier this month.
But while driving a golf buggy towards his ball, Alan manoeuvred through some trees and crashed into an unmarked ditch around two metres deep.
He required a tourniquet for severe bleeding at the scene and was rushed to a local hospital where scans revealed a broken femur. Alan had broken the same bone in several places during a motorcycle accident in 1980, requiring multiple surgeries and two knee replacements. He also had a intramedullary rod inserted into the centre of his bone to support the leg.
Due to the extensiveness of the injuries and Alan’s medical history, Portuguese surgeons have said he will need to return to the UK and receive treatment from his specialist at John Radcliffe Hospital.
Son Dave said: “In early October, he was finally back to doing what he loved, playing golf, after years of issues with his body.
“He had a motorcycle accident where he broke his right femur in multiple places and required an intramedullary rod for most of his life after this. He was lucky to leave the hospital with two legs.
“Upon seeing the state of Alan's leg and the historical issues with it, the Portuguese surgeons do not want to operate and want his specialist in Oxford to handle the surgery. This requires him travelling from Portugal to England with one of the most painful injuries possible.”
His family have been tirelessly trying to find a commercial flight which would accept Alan with the extra support required, but all airlines have refused to take him.
They say the only option is a medical repatriation, but need help covering the huge cost.
The family is now looking to raise £12,000 to help get Alan home.
Alan added: “Our only option left is now a medical repatriation on a full stretcher from country to country.
“We are hoping for any support, however big or small, that will allow Alan to make it safely to the John Radcliffe hospital in England and receive the surgery he needs.”
Visit www.gofundme.com/f/help-bring-alan-home-on-a-stretcher to donate.