Sister Launches Fundraiser to Repatriate UK Mother After Brain Injury in Poland

The family of Claire, a 32-year-old mother of two from Essex, is urgently seeking funds to repatriate her to the United Kingdom after she sustained a devastating brain injury in Poland. Claire collapsed and suffered a seizure while grocery shopping during a family visit on August 12, an event described as sudden and unexplained as she had no prior history of ill health.

While her husband, Grzesiek, was retrieving a shopping trolley, he witnessed Claire collapse and hit her head on the concrete floor. She was immediately taken to a hospital, where doctors discovered a bleed on her brain via a CT scan. An emergency decompressive craniectomy was performed to alleviate swelling and pressure, but Claire has remained in a deep coma in intensive care for six weeks following the four-hour surgery.

The family faces a potential bill of up to £45,000 for Claire's repatriation via ambulance, even though she has travel insurance with medical coverage. Her sister, Sarah Barron, has established a GoFundMe page to raise the necessary funds. The family hopes to bring Claire home as soon as a lung infection she developed in the hospital has cleared.

Grzesiek, who has been married to Claire for ten years and shares two daughters aged six and seven, was forced to return to the UK to care for their children and manage his own autoimmune disease, for which he receives regular treatment in the UK. Claire was his primary caregiver, and her absence has placed immense strain on the family.

"Grzesiek is actually very sick himself and has gone from Claire being his primary carer to now having to manage two young children on his own with his own health problems," Sarah stated. "I'm very thankful that my parents are living nearby, because they are a huge support for him and the girls."

Claire's daughters are aware that their mother is in the hospital but do not fully understand the severity of her condition. They have been staying with cousins and are deeply missing their mother.

Doctors in Poland remain uncertain about Claire's long-term prognosis and the cause of her seizure. Recent tests have indicated no pupil reaction or response to pain stimuli, though this is difficult to assess fully until the brain swelling subsides. She is currently in a stable coma, described as a trauma coma rather than medically induced, with her brain stem supporting independent breathing and other organs functioning.

While the British Embassy in Poland has not yet been able to assist, the Polish hospital staff and the Hearts First ambulance service, specialists in long-distance medical repatriation, have been instrumental in arranging Claire's transfer. The family is hopeful for her recovery, with Sarah expressing optimism for her sister's long road ahead.