Nicky's Q&A - Advice if you get ill abroad

Can you tell us what the trip meant to you and how much you were looking forward to it? 

“We’d had such a difficult year with Darren’s treatment that as soon as we got the all-clear, our first thought was to book a holiday. We love travelling and we’re both into diving. Cape Verde looked like an amazing place for it. The hotel had only been open six months and it looked like paradise. We were so excited.”

Can you tell us what happened while you were there? 

“We arrived late at the hotel to a buffet that had been left out for us. We noticed that it was uncovered and there were a lot of flies nearby, but we were so tired and hungry that we didn’t worry too much about it. 

“The next morning I got up early to go for a swim. At lunchtime Darren and I got two pork kebabs from the barbeque near the pool. The first bite was pretty tough, so I pulled apart some of the meat and noticed it was raw inside. I spat it out and told Darren not to eat it either. 

“That evening, I started getting stomach cramps and ran to the bathroom. I was so sick, I thought I was going to choke. You do expect tummy upsets when you travel – I’ve been going abroad for over thirty years so I’m no stranger to it and I thought this was just a twenty-four-hour bug. 

“I had such a bad headache and fever in the night, it was awful. We’d booked a diving trip for the following day, but I stayed behind to rest. While Darren was gone the vomiting started again, and this time there was blood in it.” 

It sounds like you needed help right away? 

“I phoned reception and told them I needed a doctor. They kept saying ‘OK’ before putting the phone down. Nobody came, they didn’t call me back, and there was no chance of me being able to walk to reception. 

“Darren came back early from the dive trip with awful sickness and diarrhoea. He was so bad he started to hallucinate, talking to people who weren’t there. I thought he was going to die. 

“I tried getting help from our holiday rep via the holiday app but after being on hold for hours, I just got an auto-message telling me to speak to resort staff. I phoned my brother to see if he had any luck getting in touch with them from the UK, but he was given the same message. Despite repeated attempts to get in touch with someone in the resort, via social media, and via the holiday app, we were completely abandoned for days without any water, getting more and more dehydrated. 

“Eventually we took ourselves to hospital. We had a hard time communicating what had happened when we were seen by a doctor due to the language barrier. They put us on IV drips, which they said would make us better. We didn’t know what medication we were given but it felt like we had no other option. 

“The following day we managed to drag ourselves to the restaurant – we must have looked like death. We knew we needed to try and eat so I suggested we had some plain chicken and potatoes. When I cut into the meat, blood spurted out of it. At this point I went straight to the manager and explained everything. We were told that we must have drunk too much or be suffering with heatstroke. I was furious.” 

What happened when you came home? 

“I went straight to my doctor, who gave me a pork parasite antibiotic. I slept a lot after that. I continued to experience symptoms and they still affect me now. I miss out on a lot of the things I used to enjoy. I can’t eat the same foods and I worry about having a flare up whenever I go out, so I tend to limit myself to places I know well. I also have anxiety and panic attacks, which I’d never had before. I used to be a major investigation detective, so as you can imagine, I don’t scare easily! 

“What’s frightening is how unpredictable it is. My symptoms just flare up randomly and it’s exhausting. It’s taken my dignity and personal pride away.” 

When did you contact Irwin Mitchell for help, and what advice would you give to someone who’s unsure about reaching out?

“After six months, I still wasn’t getting any answers from my holiday provider, so I decided to do a TikTok video about my experience. It went viral and someone who saw it reached out and asked if I was part of the Irwin Mitchell group case against Cape Verde. I hadn’t heard of it, but I called them straight away to find out what was going on and they’ve been brilliant. 

“It’s so easy to want to give up when you’ve already been through so much, but you have to make an effort to stand up for yourself. It’s so simple, just one phone call where you have a chat and answer a few questions – that’s all it takes. They’ll make you feel validated and welcomed, and it’s so much easier having them on your side when dealing with a big company. 

“My lawyer Beatrix is particularly amazing, it’s just like having a friend who calls you up to see how you are. She even came round to visit me with her colleague – I didn’t expect two lovely solicitors to be sitting in my lounge having a cup of tea with me. I don’t know what people would do without them. I’ve been shepherding people who’ve had similar experiences towards Irwin Mitchell for the past eighteen months.” 

And lastly, what’s the main thing you hope to achieve from speaking out about your experience? 

“I want to raise awareness of the potential dangers of travelling to help people avoid similar experiences. I felt like we could have died in that room; I’ve got to do what I can to prevent anyone else from going through the same ordeal.”