‘Treasured’ Ashburton woman dies on Greek holiday
Almost two weeks after she should have returned home from her dream holiday, Carol Hill’s family are instead fighting for the return of her body.
Hill, 61, died last week in Athens, Greece, after being hit by a motorbike and spending four weeks in a medically induced coma.
The Ashburton woman had just begun a four-week ‘‘dream holiday’’ with her husband, Barrie Hill. The couple had just celebrated their 40-year wedding anniversary.
Lance Hill, her eldest son, said his mother had spent years planning and saving for her monthlong trip to Greece. The couple had arrived in the country just eight days before the accident, and had travelled to Athens and Mykonos, before stopping off in Santorini. They were due to board a cruise ship days later.
Hill had been on her way out for dinner with her husband on June 9 when she was struck.
‘‘They had just got into town, and Dad got out of the bus. He said he heard a bang, turned around and she was on the ground,’’ Lance Hill said. ‘‘We’re not sure who was to blame, whether she stepped out and didn’t see it or what. Dad saw the driver get up and drive away a bit later.’’
A surgeon and an emergency doctor travelling from America were on a bus behind Hill’s. They had rushed to help, and stabilised her while the group waited for an ambulance. She was later airlifted to Athens on a medevac flight.
Hill’s injuries were severe. Among them were multiple fractures to the head, a damaged second vertebrae, broken ribs, a broken collarbone, a punctured and collapsed lung, damaged spleen, a broken pelvis, her hips were broken or loose, and she had a broken leg, arm, foot and hand.
She was given a 5 to 10 per cent chance of survival. ‘‘She was far too broken to get home all right,’’ Lance Hill said.
He and younger brother Shane arrived in Greece three days after the accident, after receiving a call from their father.
During that time, the Ashburton community rallied to help the stricken family. While the couple had travel insurance, many expenses were not covered.
Barrie Hill had maxed out his credit card paying thousands of dollars for the medevac flight.
On June 21, a fun run and walk was organised for the family – which Shane and Lance returned for. When they left, their mother was stable. ‘‘They started to bring her out of the coma and she was looking around and she said a couple of words. She said ‘Help me’,’’ Lance Hill said.
Doctors believed Hill had woken up thinking she had just been in the accident, and not realised almost a month had passed.
But on Tuesday, Hill’s condition worsened. Her damaged lungs were giving her breathing problems, before she got pneumonia and a lung infection.
On Thursday, doctors decided she needed emergency surgery.
‘‘One of her lungs had given up and was poisoning her system,’’ Lance Hill said.
After surgeons removed her lung, Hill’s condition was stable until just an hour later when she died of a heart attack.
‘‘Dad had the phonecall saying everything was good, and had a phonecall an hour later to say you need to get here,’’ Lance Hill said.
The family were ‘‘getting through’’ the news of Hill’s death, he said.
Barrie Hill has been told it could be two weeks before his wife’s body could be flown to New Zealand. His father refuses to leave earlier, hoping to return home on the same flight, Lance Hill said. ‘‘He’s handling things the best he can. He’s fighting with the embassy to get her back.’’
Fundraising efforts have so far topped $15,000 for the family – with $8,000 alone raised by the fun run. Carol Hill had worked in the office at Silver Fern Farms’ meat processing plant in Ashburton for about 27 years.
She was a grandmother to Shane Hill’s two children. ‘‘She called herself Nanma. She didn’t want to be a Grandma or a Nana because she thought it made her
sound too old,’’ Lance Hill said. ‘‘She was a loving and caring mother who was always there and would go out of her way to help and do things for people.’’
Family and friends of Hill were ‘‘devastated’’. Family friend Amy Milne remembers holidaying with the Hills for 30 years.
‘‘I don’t know if the family and our ‘ holiday family’ will ever recover.
‘‘Carol has been a big part of my life growing up with lots of fond memories of our family holidays. Carol was the centre of those holidays – she was the glue. A treasured and loved friend who loved life. Her and Barrie are amazing people.’’
Police were still investigating the cause of the accident, Lance Hill said, and he was not sure if charges had been laid.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed they were aware of Hill’s death and said they were providing consular assistance to the family.