Louis Benson was on holiday with a group of friends in Zante when he was rushed to hospital
Louis and Olinda during happier times(Image: Jam Press/Olinda Oleksewycz)
A distraught mum has begged for help after her son was left fighting for his life following a horror accident on his first holiday without his family. Louis Benson had travelled to Zante, Greece, with a group of friends and was looking forward to the trip.
But tragedy struck when he was involved in a serious accident and rushed to hospital with a bleed on the brain. His mum, Olinda, from Halifax, West Yorkshire, said he was placed into an induced coma and needed to be transferred to mainland Greece for life-saving surgery.
She revealed there was no insurance in place and appealed for donations to help cover urgent costs, including getting Louis’s dad out to Greece to be by his side while she remained at home caring for her other son. In an update shared on June 11, Olinda revealed Louis had been transferred to Athens by the Royal Air Force.
She said he remained in a critical but stable condition, as reported by NeedToKnow. Two days later, on June 13, Olinda said she had arrived in Athens and thanked people for their overwhelming support.
She said: “Firstly, I would like to say that I am totally overwhelmed with the response to my plea and more so, the amount of donations made.
“I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. These donations have lifted a huge weight off my family’s shoulders. I will be eternally grateful.”
Olinda later shared a heartbreaking update after speaking to doctors about her son’s condition. She said: “Louis had a severe brain injury. He is heavily sedated.
“They are keeping him stable and sedated for the next few days then will slowly wake him to see if he responds to stimuli and if he moves, talks, and understands. They cannot say anything more than that at the moment.”
She added: “They let me see him for a few minutes only as visiting is strict. It broke my heart seeing him like that. I talked to him and told him to be strong and to recover. And he was massively loved by all of us.”
A final update on June 14 from Olinda said: “Louis continues to be stable . He’s had another CT scan but results not ready yet . Will find out tomorrow. His eye and its injury can only be assessed once he is awake. For now stable is good. Thank you all again for your unwavering support, kindness and generosity xxx”
At the time of writing, £29,666 had been raised towards a £45,000 target as supporters rallied around the family during the ordeal.
The appeal itself reads: “Hello my name is Olinda and I’m on here as I’m desperate and need help. My oldest son went on holiday with a group of his friends to Zante. He was so happy and excited . He’s been struggling with his brother being in hospital currently too and is very poorly. It was his first holiday without his family. So this holiday would’ve taken his mind off this for a bit.
“Today he was involved in a serious accident and is in hospital in an induced coma with a bleed on his brain. He needs to be transferred to mainland Greece for life-saving surgery. No insurance sadly. His father needs to get there and be with him as I have to be here for my other son. This is by far the most tragic set of circumstances and I’m begging for help no matter how small.”
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