Vacation hell after woman eats worm

posted on: Oct 24 2009 12:44 by The Reporter. Viewed 788 times.


A British woman has won a record compensation after getting sick in a Puerto Plata hotel.
Beryl Rushton, aged 66, suffered septicaemia, organ failure and temporary blindness after falling ill seven years ago while staying in the five-star Hacienda Tropical Beach resort on the North Coast.
A previously fit and healthy yoga instructor, Beryl is now left in a wheelchair, popping 26 pills a day and looked after by carers.
Lawyers working on her behalf against the tour operator, First Choice won a record �240,000 (approx US$400,000).
Her ordeal began seven years ago when she ordered fish in the hotel restaurant.
"When I bit into my red snapper I saw a big black worm with blood round it in the middle of the fish. It was disgusting.�
"I was stunned," says Beryl, of Accrington, Lancashire. "This wasn't an ordinary worm, it was jet black and huge. I shouted the chef to come over. He quickly offered me another meal.�
"I felt sick and couldn't face anything else. I went to bed, hoping I'd feel better in the morning."
�A few hours later I started to feel really ill. The stomach pains were horrendous.�
"I've got three boys but childbirth was nothing compared to this. I remember dragging myself to the bathroom on the floor, bleeding from my mouth and nose."
When Beryl was eventually flown home she was immediately rushed to hospital where she was diagnosed with bacterial gastroenteritis.
A consultant from Liverpool's tropical disease unit was also called in.
Beryl had septicaemia, her limbs had swollen and she suffered loss of vision in one eye and blurred vision in the other. Her liver and internal organs were enlarged, her aorta began to leak, her nervous system was damaged and eventually, her immune system collapsed.
Seven years later Beryl is a shadow of the active woman she once was and relies on carers. She has permanent bone damage, memory problems and can only walk with crutches in her house and has to use a mobility scooter.
"I'm relieved it's all over but I'm angry it's taken so long," says Beryl, 66. "The money sounds a lot and it will help look after me in my old age but it's nothing compared to what I've lost. I'll never get any better."
First Choice, which no longer uses the hotel, said: "We would like to reassure our customers that their health and safety is of paramount importance. We closely monitor all hotels to which we operate to ensure that the strictest health, safety, hygiene and comfort levels our customers expect are maintained."