After just one day into their holiday in Benalmádena on Spain’s sunny Costa del Sol, mother of two Jackie Lee was enjoying dinner with her husband Colin when all of a sudden she had difficulty breathing.
The 57-year-old former nurse from Senghenydd, Caerphilly, in Wales told her husband “I’m dying, tell the kids I love them.”
Colin said: “She told me she felt a bit sick and couldn’t breathe. I thought she was having a panic attack.
“Within minutes of that, we think she’d passed away. It was devastating.”
The couple had not taken out travel insurance leaving Jackie’s family to defray the cost for her repatriation back the UK for burial.
Colin said: “Before we went to the supermarket earlier that day Jackie told me she’d forgotten three things: tea bags, a travel plug and insurance.
“Jackie always made a point of getting insurance as she had a pacemaker but getting ready for the holiday was a little bit more rushed than normal as we only knew we were going about a week or so earlier.”
A family relative wrote on a Go Fund Me page: “As some of you may know, my sister-in-law passed away on Wednesday 24th October while on holiday in Spain.
“Unfortunately, her holiday was uninsured, and nor did she have any life insurance, which has meant that there is a significant cost to my brother-in-law and his children to bring her home and bury her close to her family.
“I have set this fundraiser up to allow any contributions that would normally be spent on flowers, or donations offered to other charities, be sent to a more worthy place.
“In leaving a lasting testament to Jackie, if the fundraising target is exceeded, we will commit to setting up a trust fund for other people within the Aber Valley to be able to access should they encounter hardships in similar circumstances, therefore leaving a legacy that would be worthy of her memory.
“We would dearly like to thank everyone for the messages of sympathy and for the heartfelt support that has been shown to all of the family so far.”
The fundraising page raised £13,246 of the £10,000 goal. Jackie’s body is now back in the UK with her funeral to be held on November 23rd.
