Mum ripped 'inside out' by jet ski on holiday as teenage son watches from the beach
A mum was ripped ‘inside out’ when she slipped off the back of a jet ski while on a family holiday — as her teenage son watched from the beach.
Water pressure slammed into Ashleigh Donnelly at 20kmph and tore her ‘from front to back’ with injuries to her womb, bowels and bum. The force was so strong she compared it to being hit by concrete, and it left poor Ashleigh, 31, with a seven inch by four inch laceration.
Rescuers dragged the injured mum-of-five onto the beach in Marmaris, Turkey, where her husband, Joe Donnelly, 30, covered her with a towel to prevent her 14-year-old son Lee from seeing her injuries on Monday.
Ashleigh was rushed to hospital where she had two emergency operations to stitch her back together and fit her with a colostomy bag. She is now stable in intensive care — but faces forking out £26,000 to pay for her hospital bill and emergency travel home because her insurance doesn't cover what is classed as an 'extreme sport'.
In a statement shared online, Ashleigh, from Northfleet, said: “I was having the best holiday and was due to fly home [yesterday] and decided to have a go on the jet skis — bad move. It is going to be a very long road to recovery for me BUT I am alive and that's all that matters.
“My babies still have a mum and my husband has his wife.”
Her sister, Stacie Kelly, 30, from Sevenoaks, Kent, said: “Ashleigh is really in agony. She just wants to get back now for the children. She was on the back of the jet ski and someone else was driving. They went over a wave and the driver lost control, and Ashleigh fell off the back.
“The pressure hit her at such force it’s torn her inside out. All her bum, bowels, her womb have ripped from where it’s got her so bad. It’s horrible for her."
“My poor nephew had to witness it all. They literally dragged her out the sea and put her on the beach. Her husband covered her with a towel so Lee wouldn’t see any of it. He was oblivious to it, he just thought she’d cut her leg or something. They tried to keep it from him.
“Ashleigh is so lovely. She’s full of life and bubbly. Everyone loves her. It’s the first time she’s been waterskiing. I don’t think she’ll be going again any time soon. Her holiday insurance is invalid because going on a jet ski is an extreme watersport. You have to get a separate insurance for that, which she didn't realise."
“The hospital is saying it could be weeks [until she can go home] depending on her recovery. Until the fees are paid, she’s not going to be able to leave the country, because once you hit a certain amount they take your passport.
“You can’t leave the country. So we’re trying to raise the funds to get her back. The NHS will help her once she’s home, so it’s just trying to get her back here.”
Donations of nearly £5,000 have flooded in in just one day — but the family still need another £5,000 to meet their target to bring Ashleigh home. The family, who were due to fly home from their week-long holiday yesterday, were forced to send son Lee home alone while Joe stays by Ashleigh’s side in hospital.
Stacie said: “Ashleigh knows about the campaign and she’s so overwhelmed with it all. She keeps ringing up crying.
“I don’t think she realises how loved she is. It’s been a bit of a wake up call for her — it’s a nice thing for her. Joe is holding up, and he’s being really strong. He rang me up and he was crying, bless him.
“I couldn’t thank him enough with how he’s being with Ashleigh. He’s been out of this world.”