Handhold/practical advice needed pls. DH poorly in Turkey

[Dalamannightmare]

First time poster look for some advice. My DH was admitted to a private hospital yesterday with very high infection markers, maybe celluitis or perhaps something else. Dr friends have seen blood results and say he needs to be in hospital on IV antibiotics which is what is happening.

Sounds like he probably won’t be flying back with us tomorrow so I will be traveling home on a night flight with pre schooler and highly anxious 8 year old. I’m very worried about DH, trying to work out the logistics of everything. My brain is going into over drive.

It's all well and good people saying book a hotel, book flights, stay etc but what if OP doesn't have the finances to book these?

The OPs insurance may or may not cover other members of the travelling party. It really depends on the level of cover. The only answer to this will come from the insurer.

My only advice is to stay in Turkey if you possibly can - your DH needs someone to advocate for him. You are the best person to do that. In your favour - accommodation and flights in Turkey are cheap.

There’s a U.K. call centre who can help with problems abroad.

www.gov.uk/guidance/contact-the-fcdo

OP I think the hardest thing for you is the mental load and dealing with everything on your own. (I’ve been in this situation too)
I would push the holiday rep for as much help as possible, including the rep area manager involvement with help to get you to hospital etc.
secondly, via the rep, can you arrange to extend your stay in existing hotel for a further week with provisional flights a week later - i.e an extra weeks “holiday”
to give you breathing space in the meantime, and you can see how things develop and improve day to day.
Hopefully after 48 hours on antibiotics there could be some improvement.

I would say don’t rely at all on any input from the insurers at this stage - they tend not to be at all proactive on a practical level. Just keep them informed.
Their main interest will be in processing the financial claim after the event.
They do however subcontract to a designated Recovery Company - who you could contact later if you needed help with a medical repatriation.

join a Turkey expat Facebook group and see if there is anyone who would help. I would if I lived there and recently looked after a random child for two nights because mum was a single parent and in labour.

Don’t do this!! Clear expenses with an insurer first. They will have a helpline and tell you what you need to do

My daughter had an accident when we were in holiday earlier this year and the insurance people were incredibly helpful. Get in touch with them asap

If you return you will need to update ravel insurance.

Complicated.

@sparkles79 i would assume that if someone doesn’t have travel insurance or adequate travel insurance then they have made that decision based on the fact that they could stump up the costs in these circumstances.

Presumably the 8 year old should be in school as it is not school holidays. Therefore if your husband is stable and being cared for I would go home as planned.

The first people to ring is the emergency help line for your travel insurers.
You can usually change flights by contacting your tour operator or airline.
Usually insurers will pay for accommodation for next of kin and they will not expect children to travel home alone.
I am sorry you are going through this. I hope DH improves quickly.

Jeez. How is that helpful? Some areas of the U.K. are finished for the year and others do authorise holiday.

I used to work for an emergency assistance company, organising help for people in situations like this.
I would prioritise calling the emergency number on your travel insurance
In the past, most policies we handled covered an additional person to remain behind (and children if no adult to take them home), and we used to book accommodation (as the insurance wouldn't necessarily cover the original hotel if it was very expensive for example), new flights when fit to fly. We would liaise with the hospital abroad for medical information etc.
You can check your policy documents to see what's covered yourself, too.
Hopefully the assistance company is a good one, because unless things have got a lot worse since I worked for one (quite possible) they should be able to make arrangements for you.
Anyway - that's a long winded way of saying speak to them asap, ask them what they will cover and what they can organise for you.
And check your policy cover
I hope he gets better soon

What a dilemma OP.
If affordable I would move to an accommodation close to the hospital then wait until DH is well enough to fly home, even if more treatment required in UK.

Check that your insurance covers private hospitals, have them confirm in writing.

I think the OP has more to worry about that her DD missing school what a ridiculous thing to say

If the policy doesn't make a distinction and the OP has been in touch with the insurers, given details, etc and whether the hospital is public or private has not been asked or discussed then I wouldn't do this. I would stick to they have sanctioned his (life saving) treatment at the location and confirmed they'll cover the cost of his return flight home.

If you raise this they may try to mitigate their costs by saying they didn't agree to his treatment being in a private hospital. Happened to a friend's mother. Luckily when my friend flew over to visit mum in hospital, she cottoned on to what the insurance company was trying to do and as she spoke the local language was able to speak to the medics and clarify things and the insurance company reluctantly agreed to cover the costs; an ambulance had been called for her mum and no one asked/said do you want a public hospital or a private hospital ambulance so her very sick mother no choice in the matter, but needed urgent treatment.

Travel insurance usually covers immediate travel companion too (and the children as they can’t travel back alone) so they should cover extending your accommodation/alternative accommodation and new flights home when DH is able to fly. Speak to you travel insurance they should have an assistance company that deals with all this.

Find out what you're covered for first. Do you have savings? If so, my DH would be more important than savings and I'd stay on an extra day or two, find some cheap accommodation and just accept the cost of the flights.

Jesus H christ.
This place sometimes.
From what i know of Turkey hospitals, and cellulitis, he should be ok in a few days.
Its scarey but he will be ok. If you can soak up the cost, id stay. If not, go home.
Check with your insurerer.
And forget about school.

If you can find the time, contact the airline/holiday company to let them know what is happening. If they have seats on flights they may be accommodating - got to be worth a shot.

I was hospitalised while on holiday. DH rang the insurance company and they just took over everything. The travel agent cancelled the flights and told us to let them know when we would be travelling home. Once I was able to travel they rebooked us. The insurance company liaised directly with the hospital and got the medical letters etc sent over. There was no suggestion that I should be left alone in hospital. I very much doubt they would expect DC to travel alone.
There was a small fee for rebooking flights, which the insurance covered. They also covered extra accommodation costs.
If you have got decent travel insurance they will advise and help.
I hope DH gets better asap and I am sorry this happened. At least you have good medical services there and I am sure he will get the best treatment.

He should get better fairly quickly with IV antibiotics. I think if I was in this situation, id look at finding somewhere cheaper to stay closer to the hospital, and seeing if you can postpone flights for a few days. Try not to panic. Cellulitis is painful, but with IV antibiotics it will clear up and he will be ok in a few days.
What does your husband want you to do? Does he want you to stay or can he manage this alone and then come back? Does he have anyone that might come over and be with him if you go home? A friend or relative?
I know you said you dont have friends or family that would be of use with the kids, but maybe soneone would be able to go over to give him a bit of moral support so you can get home with the kids?

If grandparents can look after them would make much more sense for you to fly home with them so they are looked after and you get a cheap flight back to be with him and find fine cheap accommodation.

Side note but Google translate app is great if translator isn’t there. You can even take photos of docs like the medical notes etc.