‘It will be a huge relief to see my son and be with him at the
0 Comments | Derby Evening Telegraph, Aug 26, 2009 | by Catherine Oakes
WHILE his son, Dillon, has been lying in a Bulgarian hospital, Steven Shaw has been desperate with worry, knowing the only way to bring the youngster back home was to raise Pounds 15,000.
The 10-year-old was the only survivor of a car crash which claimed the lives of his best friend, Paul McLeod, Paul’s grandmother and a Bulgarian woman.
Dillon suffered minor head injuries, a broken collar bone and a broken leg when the car they were travelling in collided with a bus.
Unable to be at his bedside because of a medical condition preventing him from flying, all Steven could do was sit at home in Derby waiting for updates on his son’s injuries.
He was then told that, due to the lack of medical insurance, it would cost Pounds 15,000 to fly Dillon back to the UK.
But thanks to the generosity of family and friends, the 35year- old, of Heatherton Village, managed to raise the cash and Dillon is due to return tomorrow.
“It will be a huge relief to see my son and be with him at the hospital,” said Steven.
“My father flew out to be with him after the accident and said the conditions at the hospital were very poor.”
The last time Steven saw his son was more than four weeks ago when Dillon travelled to Dobrich, in Bulgaria, with 11year-old Paul.
Dillon was staying with Paul’s grandmother, Gerry McLeod, who was also Steven’s aunty.
According to his father, he had been enjoying his first visit to the country.
But on Saturday, Steven received a phone call telling him Dillon and Paul had been taken to hospital after the crash.
He said: “It was about 12.40pm on Saturday when I got a call from Sally, Paul’s mum, telling me to get home as there had been an accident.
“At that moment all she knew was that Gerry had died, Paul was severely injured and my son was also in a critical condition at hospital.
“The information that we were being given was vague and not very clear as we were relying on a translator to tell us what was happening.
“We later found out that Paul had tragically died, too and that Dillon had suffered brain injuries, a fractured collar bone, a fractured leg and damage to his pelvis.
“It was heart-breaking to think that he was in a hospital hundreds of miles away and I wasn’t there with him.
“Not only was I coming to terms with losing Gerry but was having to find ways to get my son back to the UK for treatment.”
The crash happened on Friday – the day before the party were due to return from Bulgaria, where Ms McLeod had just bought a holiday home.
The group were returning from a beach in the Black Sea resort of Varna when the accident took place.
Steven said: “I haven’t been able to tell my son yet that Paul and Gerry have died. He has been under heavy sedation since the accident and is unaware that people were killed.
“Gerry was like a grandmother to him. Our family is very close. Paul and Dillon had grown up together – they were like brothers. They fought like brothers and laughed like brothers.
“I spoke to Dillon yesterday. He sounded okay and is relieved to be coming home.”
As Dillon was not insured, Steven has had to pay for a private company to fly his son back to the UK, accompanied by a doctor and nurse.
Doctors at the hospital in Bulgaria have said the youngster is medically fit to fly and the return journey is expected to take five hours.
The plane is due to land at East Midlands Airport, in Castle Donington, tomorrow mor ning.
Steven said: “As I am insured through my bank I thought that Dillon was insured, too, but it turns out that that was only the case if I had been travelling with him.
“I would urge anyone going away to make sure they have travel insurance.
“The whole thing has been a nightmare.”
Despite the welcome news that Dillon is returning home, Paul’s mother, Sally, has been told it will cost Pounds 6,000 to fly the bodies of her son and mother back to the UK.
Paul, a former Griffe Field Primary School pupil, was a promising footballer who was named player of the season for Mickleover Allstars Under-12s.
It is understood that he had been recently scouted by Derby County Football Club and was described by his manager, Steven Fearn, as a “gentle giant”.
He had left Griffe Field school in July and was due to start at Derby Moor Community Sports College in September.
Ms McLeod, 54, of Ilkeston, was a long-standing employee at Derby City Council
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