Albanian holiday nightmare for Sandy family

Arber Cengu was on the final day of a trip to see family with his two year old son when he was suddenly taken ill on April 20.

The 39 year old was taken to two hospitals and diagnosed with a significant stroke.

Life saving surgery removed the blockages stopping the blood flow to his brain but two days later the pressure in his brain increased and he had to undergo a craniectomy to relieve the pressure.

The family had to pay £19,000 upfront for the surgery while discussions are ongoing with their travel insurance company, and each day Arber is in hospital the costs are increasing.

His sister in law Rachael Small said the family was in complete shock. “It was totally out of the blue,” she said. “There’s no history of it in the family. He felt unwell and then lost his speech and control of his right hand side and had to be rushed off to hospital.

"They removed the clot but after a few days his brain started swelling and they had to remove the top part of his skull. It’s just awful."

His wife Tracey, a reception teacher at Robert Peel Primary School in Sandy, had flown home from the holiday a few days earlier and had to leave her daughter, Ayla aged six, with family while she flew out again to be by her husband’s bedside. She has since brought son Louie back home before flying out again.

“He’s such a lovely bloke and the family is just lovely,” said Rachael. “We can’t get over how many people have donated so far."

Arber, who works for Stagecoach, and the family have lived in Sandy for around six years. He has lived in the UK since early childhood.

Tracey said: “We are a few more days down the line now and he is starting to respond better to human interaction and voices, he has slowly increasing strength in his left side, but his right side is still quite unresponsive.

“Doctors have said that in several weeks Arber will have to undergo more surgery to replace the skull bone from the craniectomy and probably several other procedures in between. We hold on to the hope that Arber will continue to fight and stay strong and be able to leave the intensive care unit at the hospital in Albania soon and start his very long road of rehabilitation and recovery.”

Thanking people on the GoFundMe page who have so far raised more than £19,000, she said: “Arber is loved and cared for by so many people and this awful situation has highlighted just how much this is the case. The well wishes from friends and family have been overwhelming and I thank you all for that. Our daughter Ayla and son Louie need their Daddy to keep fighting and stay strong. We will remain hopeful for the best recovery possible for Arber, those of you that know him will know he is such a strong-willed and determined person and I know that he will be fighting every step of the way.”

To donate, go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-arber-his-family