Couple return home after surgery ordeal in Thailand

A woman who was stranded in Thailand following emergency spinal surgery which was not covered by her travel insurance says she is "over the moon" to finally be home.

Jo and Stu Ingram were on what was meant to be a two-week holiday when she broke her back in three places on a pony trek - categorised as an "extreme sport" by her insurer.

Their medical bills, hotel, flights and other costs reached £60,000, and the couple returned to Norfolk last week, two months after the fall.

"I'm absolutely overjoyed, so relieved, to be home, with all our friends and family and loved ones; hopefully we can take the next steps towards getting back to a normal life," said Jo, 56, of Belton.

Her husband, Stu, agreed: "The moment we came through the gate, I was euphoric.

"For the previous 11-12 weeks we were living in a state of terror; to be home now, and to be almost normal - it's absolutely fantastic."

The pair were enjoying the penultimate evening of their stay on 8 March when they decided to go riding on the beach near their hotel in Krabi, south-west Thailand.

Jo fell and woke up on the sand in "considerable pain".

After being taken to hospital by ambulance, the couple soon learned horse-riding was not covered by their travel insurance, which they admitted was "our fault for not reading the small print".

They had to pay £12,000 up front to initiate treatment, with X-rays revealing Jo had broken her back in three places and fragments from a shattered disc were pressing on her spinal column.

"The pain was excruciating," said Jo. "I've never known pain like it.

"We had a little bit of savings because we've been saving up to move home, but it's just terrifying; if you don't pay, you're not being treated."

The couple had to pay a further £12,000 for the seven-hour surgery the following day, with an online fund quickly set up by Stu's employer, a building contractor in Great Yarmouth, to help alleviate some of the financial strain.

Ultimately, it raised about £18,500.

Jo was in hospital for three weeks, with the couple moving to a hotel to continue her recovery until she was fit enough to fly.

"There came a point where we couldn't afford to stay in hospital," explained Jo.

"It was very difficult; we withdrew everything we possibly could to be able to get through it, and the people at Stu's work were fantastic.

"That [fund] gave us the means to actually get home. It paid for our flights and towards the medical bills as well."

To add insult to injury, Jo later felt "really poorly" and had to return to hospital for 10 days to be placed on a drip after contracting dengue fever from a mosquito bite.

This time she was insured, having taken out another policy.

"There were times we thought we're not going to get home," she admitted.

"Every time we thought we'd got over a hurdle, something else then stepped in and stopped us.

"Friends and family were brilliant, but we had nothing at all from the insurance company, nothing at all from a tour operator.

"We felt completely isolated."

An emotional Stu, 58, said he had felt "helpless" and scared for much of their ordeal, especially as he was unable to communicate with anyone at hospital.

"We just had each other; we propped each other up and had no option but to get through," he added.

Now back home, Jo said she was "slow and steady", with the help of a walking frame, and hoped to return to work as a vets' receptionist.

"That will get better and better as the weeks go by," she said.

"There's a lot of mental healing as well.

"I'm so lucky. It's an awful thing that's happened, but I will be back nearly to normal.

"I am able to walk, I'm able to move, and I'm just over the moon that I'm able to do that."

Do you have a story suggestion for Norfolk? Contact us below.

Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.