A BRITISH teenage girl with a rare genetic condition had to be placed on a ventilator at Alicante’s General Hospital after her lungs filled with blood while on holiday with her parents.
An online fundraiser has been launched to pay for their extended stay which could last for several more weeks.
Charlotte Meek, 13, from Larkhall near Glasgow had enjoyed Alicante’s Three Kings Parade on January 5, when she became unwell early the next day.
Her parents Wendy and Stephen called an ambulance to take her to hospital where she remains in intensive care.
CHARLOTTE’S ICU BED
Charlotte started to expel blood from her mouth through coughing and vomiting caused by a genetic condition called SWAN (Syndrome with no name).
It is so rare that doctors are unable to provide a diagnosis and it causes underlying health issues.
Tragically, the family lost Charlotte’s brother Justin in similar circumstances while on a family holiday to Florida in 2014.
Her dad said it was like a ‘mirror image’ of their current plight.
Stephen recalled to the Daily Record what happened to Charlotte on January 6.
“We had three days enjoying a nice wee break, then in the early hours of Monday morning, Charlotte began to have coughing fits quite consistently then began coughing up blood which is never good.”
“By 5.30am she was being violently sick with a lot of blood. Even though Charlotte has underlying health conditions, she had been well recently so we were worried,” he added.
“By the time I got to the hospital she was already getting put on a ventilator and her oxygen levels were worryingly low”.
Wendy and Stephen have been told that it could be weeks before they can all return home to Scotland.
They said that Charlotte is awake and able to communicate, stating that she is ‘a real fighter and superstar’.
In order to pay for their extended stay in Alicante- in an apartment close to the hospital- the parents have launched a fundraising campaign and raised over €2,000 so far.
Stephen said: “They have told us to prepare to spend weeks here while Charlotte recovers, they still don’t know what the cause of the bleeding is.
Last year, the Meek family founded the SMILE Children’s Charity and opened a store in Larkhall to raise money to provide support to families of seriously ill children.
