My family vacation ended in horror when my dad broke his neck – now he’s stuck in an Italian hospital with no way home

A FAMILY’S vacation ended in disaster after the dad fainted and broke his neck while visiting Italy for the first time.

While in the hospital, his whopping medical bills were projected to spiral beyond $500,000.

KOAT Action News

KOAT Action News

More than $74,000 was raised to help provide emergency transportation for musician Leo Maes, who played the drums for various bands.

His family was in a desperate race to bring him home to New Mexico for further treatment, according to a heartbreaking description of his accident on GoFundMe .

His worried daughter, Sara, said that Leo was on a family vacation in Rome along with numerous relatives, including her mother, sister, and godparents.

“It was Leo’s first time traveling to Europe, a once in a lifetime experience, and something the family had spent months preparing for,” she said in June.

One of their visits included a trip to the Vatican, in the heart of Rome.

“Leo hadn’t been feeling very well but everyone thought it was just fatigue from the flight and adjusting to the food/not eating well,” said Sara.

Inside the Vatican, while walking in a group tour, he fainted, fell forward head first and his neck snapped, resulting in a severe spinal cord injury.

He was taken to the San Camillo Hospital in Rome, where he had a major surgery – and tested positive for Covid.

Leo was in critical condition in intensive care, where he needed help to enable him to breathe independently.

Sara explained that time was of the essence to return him to the US.

“The doctors caring for him are advising that he be transferred to an ICU in the United States via an air ambulance equipped with a ventilator as soon as possible in order for him to get the proper care,” she added.

“His medical bills are projected to have already exceeded $500,000.”

His family was aiming to raise $150,000 to help cover air ambulance costs from Italy, as “his insurance will not cover any part of it and we’ve exhausted all other options,” said Sara.

In the end, they managed to obtain $74,150 in donations from kindhearted people.

“It’s become a lot to deal with emotionally and just trying to navigate the situation,” Sara told ABC affiliate KOAT .

Horror vacation in Mexico

Two students became mysteriously ill at a bar and one was hospitalized after their dream Mexican vacation turned into a horror story.

The families of friends Zara Hull and Kaylie Pitze, from Oklahoma, recalled the horror travel situation that resulted in thousands of dollars worth of medical bills.

Hull and Pitze, students at Oklahoma Christian University, had visited Cancun, Mexico , with their boyfriends.

The friends ordered a glass of water but the girls quickly slumped over and Hull started to have some “jerking movements,” according to ABC affiliate KOCO-TV .

Pitze explained that she had woken up in a poor state the next morning.

“It hurt to open my eyes, I was very nauseous, I couldn’t move,” she recalled.

“I started having convulsions in my stomach, so they called 911,” Hull said.

The pair are back in the US but Hull has remained in the hospital as doctors try to figure out what mysteriously happened.

“That snap fractured his neck and caused a spinal cord injury, which has not affected all of his motor functions from the neck down.”

“It’s insane. It’s just insane,” said family friend Krystle Lucero.

“It’s just one of those things you cannot even think to prepare for.

“I just love Leo, and I love his family – they are good people. They are always willing to give of themselves.”

MORE SURGERY

In an update on Leo’s situation last month, Sara said that her dad had been safely brought home.

“Leo was safely transferred to the ICU at UNM Hospital,” she said.

“The level of care, attention to detail, and technology being used here has already provided us with a great sense of relief.

“And just being back in his homeland is surely providing some comfort to my dad, however small.”

Sara said that neurosurgeons had reviewed procedures her dad had undergone in Rome, and had advised the family that more surgery was needed.

This was to “correct and undo much of what was surgically done to his spine in the previous procedures in Rome.”

“We wish he didn’t have to go through another surgery, but it is necessary to give him any chance at improving his outcome,” she said.

Sara also thanked people for supporting Leo’s bid for better health.

“A special thank you to all those who made it possible for us to bring my dad home! Words cannot express our gratitude,” she added.

Leo’s shocking experience comes as two students became mysteriously ill at a bar, and one was hospitalized after their dream Mexico vacation turned into a horror story.