A mum-of-two has issued a stark warning to other parents after her 'dream' family holiday turned into a 'nightmare'. Ashley Bain had been eagerly anticipating a trip to Turkey with her husband, two children and in-laws.
The family usually enjoys at least one holiday together each year, but this time she said things didn't go as planned. "The holiday from hell. Let's get [into] it," she stated in a TikTok video. "Food poisoning nearly killed my son on holiday."
Ashley explained that the first day at the unnamed hotel was spent getting acquainted with the surroundings and enjoying the pool. "The kids had a great day," she recalled.
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However, the second day took a turn for the worse after a buffet breakfast at the hotel. After spending the afternoon away from the hotel with her husband Jamie, they returned to find the rest of the family ill.
"It started with Jamie's mum [getting] food poisoning, then Jamie's dad," she revealed. Soon, the entire family was sick.
"I can't even explain to you how poorly my children were," she said, adding that by the third day, her son River couldn't even keep water down. She described him as "lethargic and unresponsive", which led them to seek help from the hotel's on-site nurse, who subsequently called a doctor.
After examining the child, the doctor stated that immediate treatment was necessary. Ashley revealed her son was put on an IV drip due to severe dehydration and an ensuing infection from his illness.
She found it particularly difficult to see her autistic son, who isn't fond of social interaction, being attended to by medical personnel. At one point, a doctor pulled Ashley aside and delivered some chilling news.
"He said words no parent wants to hear," she confessed. "He said that, 'Your son is seriously, seriously ill."
She was informed that River would need to avoid sunlight for at least three days, and that the infection could spread to his bloodstream, potentially leading to deadly sepsis.
While River was receiving treatment, Jamie and Ashley's daughter, Mila, also fell ill. Ashley disclosed that her daughter was "half an hour short" of being in the same critical condition as her son, but received hospital treatment before her illness escalated.
Thankfully, River started to recover and stopped taking medication two days before the family's return home. Ashley shared that they managed to enjoy one full day in Turkey and one night's sleep before their journey back.
Speaking exclusively to BirminghamLive, she expressed: "We lost our full entire holiday. Which was a lot of money. But you can't put a price on my children.
"I was nearly bringing [River] home in a body bag. My daughter wasn't far off being in the same boat. I'm heartbroken and everything, as are my full family."
She is now trying to claim compensation from Jet2, who organised the trip, after claiming she "never got a holiday." "It was a nightmare experience," she added on TikTok. "I cannot explain the trauma, how traumatic it was for everybody.
"We work so hard to give our kids a holiday at least once a year to spend time together. The kids never get to see their dad because of the industry he's in, and that time means so much to us. Time is precious and it was ripped away from us."
A spokesperson for Jet2 said: "We are sorry to hear that Ms Bain's family have been unwell. We can confirm that we were in contact with Ms Bain during her holiday, however no evidence has been provided to support the claim that any illness was caused by consuming food at the hotel.
"We have not received any correspondence from Ms Bain since she returned from holiday, and we would be happy to investigate further should she contact us with evidence."