Honeymoon newly-wed’s fight for life after 10ft fall
ANEWLYWED from Runcorn was left fighting for her life after an accidental fall during her honeymoon only for her husband to bring her back from the brink with his third resuscitation attempt.
Wendy Snelson-Brown is reported to have tripped via an unguarded wall into a 10ft drop onto concrete on her third night in La Palma in the Canary Islands with husband Gary.
Recounting what happened via a fundraising appeal, her friend Joanne McKindley said Gary performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and brought her round on his third attempt.
Joanne said Wendy was placed in a coma with a bleed on the brain, three skull fractures and two shattered vertebrae, and was airlifted to Tenerife university hospital for surgery.
Two weeks in a coma passed and she was brought out on January 16 but early signs were ‘not very promising’, Joanne said, but was released from intensive care a week later.
She has now undergone surgery on Monday, January 29, and is now due to return to the UK on a medical flight with Gary beside her to be transferred to a Manchester hospital within weeks.
Joanne has launched a fundraising drive on the GoFundMe crowdfunding website to support the couple while IT consultant Gary looks after Wendy during her recovery.
At time of writing, wellwishers had donated £1,840 towards a £50,000 target.
Wendy, a fan of Liverpool FC and former world number one darts player Gary Anderson, had been looking forward to spending her life with her husband when misfortune struck.
Joanne said the matter had been kept private during the anxious wait to find out if Wendy would ● survive. She said: “There was one point when they thought she wasn’t going to make it through.
“Now I’m feeling so positive, in a good place. She had her operation yesterday and it went well so I’m hoping she’ll be flown back to Manchester.
“It’s one day at a time, they don’t know if she’s going to be able to walk.
“Touch wood she’s out of the woods. Gary’s an IT consultant contractor, he’s self-employed.
“He hasn’t left Wendy’s side and won’t get paid while he’s not working.
“There’s more important things to life than work, when you’ve got someone who got married six months ago with who you want to spend you life with.”
Joanne also thanked wellwishers and those who have donated, describing the support as ‘truly amazing’.
She said: “I feel humbled that people have been donating who don’t even know her, it’s amazing to think there’s people out there like that.”
The comments section includes an update from Gary, who said: “Thank you all so much for the kind donations, it will help Wendy through the dark rehabilitation process ahead. Your positive comments and generosity has helped me immensely too, during the worst time of my life.
“We’ve got a long way to go, but I know that with you and all of our friends and family pulling together it will allow Wendy the best fighting chance on her road to recovery. xxx.”
Rachel Lockett, daughter, also provided a written update.
She said: “Thank you so much to everyone who has supported my mum over the past fews weeks and all the support on here over the past few days!
“We are taken aback by everybody’s generosity. “Thank you so much! “My mum’s second operation went really well and they are very pleased with the outcome, she even managed to open her eyes for Gary and Lynny!
“So over the next few days she will slowly be elevated to be sitting up and the pain will be assessed.
“I can’t thank people enough for their kind words and thoughts over the past few weeks! “She is fighting this!” Joanne said: “At present we do not know what the future will be for Wendy.
“The extent of her injuries are at present unknown, whatever the outlook may be Wendy’s current home will not be an option for her.
“Wendy will have to move into a more suitable home to begin her long road to recovery.
“As for work we just don’t know when or if Wendy will return.
“Gary will be concentrating on Wendy’s recovery and will not be able earn his current contract salary. Wendy and Gary would never ask for charity but as you can all appreciate they have been faced with a very difficult situation.
“So anything you can give will be greatly appreciated.”
To donate visit GoFundMe.com and search for ‘ WENDY & Family Need Your Support’. OR CALL