Hotel manager, 23 battling rare kidney infection after 'dream holiday' in Egypt

Home Top

'The most violent 15 seconds of my life': British surfer is nominated for 'global wipeout of the year' with spectacular plunge from crest of 30ft wave
Forget actually going shopping: At the world's most eye-popping malls you can ride roller coasters, go skiing and watch sharks
Tourists falling ill from youngsters deliberately pooing in hotel pools: Inbetweeners 2 waterslide scene blamed for 'abhorrent craze of 'logging'
'Perfect swarm' of midges wreaking havoc in Scotland with tourism industry expecting to lose £286MILLION because the biting insects put visitors off
The exodus begins: Holiday firms rush to airlift more than 2,500 British tourists from Tunisia today, as Thomson and First Choice cancel all bookings for next week
Geneva named most expensive city in the world for hotel dining
Plane bound for Kuwait from New York makes emergency landing at Heathrow
Mauritius gets a 10 but it's just a 7 for my curry! Strictly star Bruno Tonioli spices up his cookery skills on Indian Ocean break
The height of fashion: From Vivienne Westwood's Virgin Atlantic designs to the bold hues of the Aeroflot fleet, these are the most stylish cabin crews in the skies
Living on the edge! Stunning images show daredevil couple cling on to Rio de Janeiro's 2,769-foot Pedra de Gavea to 'feel alive'
Malaysia Airlines grounds flights to Brisbane to cut costs as carrier continues to struggle following MH370 an MH17 disasters
Disney roller coaster left stranded at top of hill for nearly an hour after rider extending banned selfie stick prompts staff to shut it down for safety reasons
Death of CAT that saved a Japanese railway line and became a national treasure sparks mourning... and there will even be a funeral
Where's the check-un desk? North Korean leader opens Pyongyang's shiny new international airport terminal (an important building in the world's least visited country)
Rustling palm trees, the lap of waves and the sound of birdsong! Only whales disturb the piece on the beautiful Bacardi Island
Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to New York diverted to Copenhagen after bomb scare... that turned out to be a camera bag
Is this the best suitcase ever? Expanding design that turns into a rack of SHELVES means no more rummaging
Chimpanzee rampage: Chaos at Canary Islands zoo after primates escape enclosure and attack three staff members
Crowd-sourcing scheme brews up plan to open a pub that's dedicated to tea (and lots of cakes, too)
Great white in Sydney or just another hoax? GoPro footage appears to show brave surfer lowering his camera into the water as huge shark swims past
Stopped in its tracks: 120 passengers left stranded after Inverness to London sleeper train is cancelled because guard 'failed to turn up for shift'
From visiting famous Godfather locations to meeting a deadly gangster's son for a chat: How Mafia tourism is booming in Sicily (but the locals aren't too happy about it)
The party's over: Police in Magaluf ordered to punish badly-behaved Britons as by-laws aimed at curbing drinking, nudity and urinating in the street are finally enforced
How to REALLY make your air miles take off: Experts reveal why upgrading to first class is often the best use of your points

Nicola Collings was left critically ill following a holiday to Sharm el Sheikh
Hours after returning to UK she was diagnosed with a rare kidney infection
Has now hired lawyers to probe the five-star Siva Sharm Resort & Spa

Published: 12:44 EST, 25 June 2015 | Updated: 17:24 EST, 25 June 2015

122

View
comments

A hotel manager was left battling for her life after contracting a rare kidney infection just hours after a 'dream holiday' at a luxury resort in Eqypt.

Nicola Collings was left critically ill and in need of emergency dialysis and blood transfusions following a summer trip to Sharm el Sheikh.

The 23-year-old was rushed to hospital just hours after returning to the UK from the five star Siva Sharm Resort & Spa in August last year.

Twenty three year old Nicola Collings was left critically ill and in need of emergency kidney dialysis following 'dream holiday' to five-star Egyptian resort

She had her appendix removed because medics wrongly suspected appendicitis but blood tests later revealed she had contracted e-coli.

Nicola was also suffering from HUS (Haemolytic Uremic Syndrome) and TTP (Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura) causing her blood to fail and her kidney function to plummet.

On Thursday, Collings, who is from Dorridge, in Solihull, West Midlands, said: 'The months following my return to the UK were absolutely terrifying as doctors only gave me a small chance of surviving my condition.

'When you go on holiday you are supposed to come back feeling refreshed but I ended up fighting for my life.

'I'm lucky really that I don't have to be on dialysis all my life but I shouldn't be in this situation at all.'

Upon returning home to the UK last summer, blood tests revealed that she had contracted e-coli and was also suffering from a rare kidney infection

Nicola was in Birmingham's Heartlands Hospital for two weeks and needed to take two months off work to recover

Find out what E. coli is and how you can prevent it

Nicola was in Birmingham's Heartlands Hospital for two weeks and needed to take two months off from work to recover from her illness.

She has now instructed medical negligence lawyers to investigate the five-star hotel and travel company, Red Sea Holidays Ltd.

Nicola claims the pool area was dirty with murky water and that the food was served lukewarm and with dirty cutlery.

She added: 'Although I'm now back at work I'm often shaking and tired and I still don't feel normal now ten months on.

'I also have to be careful about my health as my immune system is not that great and so I tend to get ill easily.

'I'm desperate to know what caused my illness as there could be other people affected who might not be as lucky as I was in surviving my condition.'

She has now hired lawyers to launch an investigation against the five-star Siva Sharm Resort & Spa

Lawyers previously won a five-figure sum from the hotel in 2010, then called Savita Spa Resort, after holidaymakers suffered severe gastric symptoms

Lawyers won a five-figure sum from the hotel in 2010, formally called the Savita Spa Resort, after a group of holidaymakers suffered severe gastric symptoms on holiday.

Amandeep Samra, an expert holiday illness lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, said: 'We are currently investigating the exact cause of Nicola's illness.

'It is extremely worrying to hear how severely ill Nicola became as a result of the illness she suffered.

'She has been through a traumatic experience and continues to suffer as a result of the illness she contracted.

'As we conduct our investigations we would urge anyone who stayed at the Siva Sharm Hotel and who may be able to provide information about the conditions there to get in contact with us as soon as possible.'

Red Sea Holidays Ltd is so far unavailable for comment.