Chinese meal on dream holiday gave me tummy bug that lasted for a year

A NURSE is suing holiday firm First Choice, claiming a meal she ate at her hotel left her with stomach troubles that lasted over a year.

Nicola Brown, 36, was struck by severe gastroenteritis just days into a trip with her partner Andrew Greenwood at the four-star Dreams Palm Beach in the Dominican Republic.

She spent four days in a medical centre and was put on a drip for fluids and antibiotics.

After returning to the hotel in Punta Cana, she remained sick for the rest of her £3,500 two-week holiday in January last year.

Miss Brown of Oakworth, near Keighley, West Yorkshire, claims she still suffers upset stomachs which she blames on undercooked chicken she ate at one of the hotel’s eight restaurants.

She has instructed lawyers to take action against First Choice which arranged the holiday, claiming it has repeatedly ignored her Nicola Brown and her partner complaints. She said: ‘It was a total nightmare being alone in a foreign hospital … at one point I was hallucinating.’

Miss Brown and Mr Greenwood, 44, ran up mobile phone bills of around £200 between them as they tried to stay in contact with each other and with relatives in the UK. She added: ‘Even today, I still do not feel fully recovered. My stom- ach is now very sensitive and can become easily upset, with vomiting and diarrhoea recurring if I eat any rich foods.

‘ I firmly believe that undercooked chicken served at Dreams Palm Beach was the cause of my illness and continued symptoms.

‘I ate a Chinese meal on the hotel complex which did not smell as it should. I did not finish the meal but I was sure the chicken was not cooked properly.’ The couple spent months saving for the holiday, she said, ‘but after that meal, the pain was so severe, it felt as though I’d been kicked really hard’.

‘I couldn’t keep anything down. I felt faint and was becoming progressively weaker,’ she added.

After her discharge from hospital, Miss Brown was put on a twohourly cocktail of medication including antibiotics, painkillers and rehydration solutions.

‘I was basically drinking water for the rest of our holiday and eat- ing very plain food,’ she said. ‘Sitting in the sun was not possible as I continued to have severe headaches from the dehydration and electrolyte imbalance.

‘Our holiday was ruined. I feel like we just ended up paying thousands for a total nightmare.

‘We’re so unhappy with the loss of so much money and more importantly, the loss of our dream holiday … Arriving home was the biggest relief ever.’

Miss Brown’s solicitor Sue Robinson, of Your Holiday Claims, said: ‘In our experience … if tour operators respond to a complaint at all, this is usually in the form of travel vouchers or small monetary amounts. Such offers can seriously undervalue your claim and leave you under- compensated for the illness you suffered.’

First Choice stressed that it regularly performs a health and safety ‘audit’ of all its accommodation.

A spokesman said: ‘We’re sorry to hear of Miss Brown and Mr Greenwood’s experience.

‘As we understand this matter is now subject to legal proceedings it would be inappropriate to comment at this time.’

‘Paid thousands for a total nightmare’