Tim McNulty
A BRITISH mother has been left fighting for her life while stranded in the Canary Islands after her insurance firm refused to pay medical bills.
Elaine Ruddick, 57, was struck by pneumonia four days into her Tenerife holiday and was taken into intensive care in a Santa Cruz hospital.
Elaine was left partly paralysed by a stroke in 2015 and now her insurance company has refused to pay out because of a ‘technicality’.
“This is the closest I have ever come to losing my wife in 37 years of marriage, I have never cried so much in all my life.
“It has been touch and go for over a week she’s still very critical, but thankfully getting a little bit more stable,” said Elaine’s husband Charlie, 62.
He added: “It’s almost unbearable for me to see the pain in her face, but I have to be strong to tell her it will be okay. Honestly though, I don’t know if she is going to live or not.”
A fundraiser has been set up for the couple, from Milton Keynes, in an attempt to cover outstanding medical costs of €8,600.
Charlie said: “I feel so emotionally drained. This holiday has turned out to be a complete nightmare.”
