NEED TO KNOW
A 79-year-old Australian woman was critically injured after she fell down an open stairwell at a restaurant in Bali, Indonesia, on the weekend of Oct. 10
The grandmother fractured her legs in six different places and suffered a life-threatening reaction to pain medication
As she fights for her life, her family is raising funds to help cover the exorbitant medical costs
A 79-year-old grandma from Australia is fighting to survive after a “horrific fall” while she was on vacation with her husband in Bali.
On the weekend of Saturday, Oct. 10, Estelle Ravenscroft was on her annual trip to the Indonesian island with her husband, Keith Ravenscroft, when the accident occurred, he told nine.com.au.
The pair was at a restaurant for lunch when Estelle slipped on the bathroom floor and fell down an open stairwell.
“Next thing I heard was this big scream,” Keith told the outlet. “It’s a stairwell going downwards, and she was down the bottom.”
The woman’s daughter, Leonie Walsh, wrote on a GoFundMe page that she has osteoporosis.
When Estelle fell, she landed on the steps below and suffered three fractures each to her right and left legs. After the elderly woman was transported to an area hospital, the situation worsened, the family said.
“She was given an opioid injection for the pain which caused a terrible reaction where her Vitals plummeted and she started convulsing,” wrote Walsh, who did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. “This was so severe that we were close to losing her.”
Estelle Ravenscroft was hospitalized following a fall during a vacation in Bali.
Credit: GoFundMe
Estelle underwent a nine-hour surgery without painkillers because of the reaction, and later had two blood transfusions to help her recover from extreme blood loss.
Adding to the family’s stress, the couple did not have travel insurance for the trip to Bali, nine.com.au reported.
“They’ve been to Bali many times, and they’ve always had insurance,” Estelle’s sister, Marilyn Jones, told the outlet. “But as years have gone by, they have obviously got older and insurances don’t always cover you, or it’s difficult to get coverage.”
As of Monday, Oct. 19, the donation page has raised more than $19,000.
Estelle remained in the ICU for days, and her mouth and throat became swollen, making her situation even more dire, according to an update on the GoFundMe page. By Sunday, Oct. 18, she began to improve.
The woman suffered six fractures to her legs.
Credit: GoFundMe
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“She is now breathing on her own,” wrote Walsh, “she is awake and aware.”
The medical team was also able to stabilize Estelle concerning the most serious reactions she had to some of her medications.
“Further MRI’s indicate good results from the very long 9 hour surgery,” her daughter continued. “This is great news!”
Read the original article on People