Somerset family seeks to repatriate brain-injury woman from Spain

Cady Jay, from Bath, was a social worker for more than a decade before she moved to Alicante on the Costa Blanca

An appeal is under way to help repatriate a British woman who had a bleed on her brain while in Spain.

Former Bath social worker, Cady Jay, 35, moved to Alicante two years ago but on 19 March she developed severe headaches caused by an aneurysm and a series of mini strokes.

She had surgery and was in intensive care but is now on a general ward.

Her family wants to raise £50,000 for a medical flight to bring her back to the UK and care for her.

The fundraising appeal has so far raised £24,000, which her family said would cover the repatriation.

Any additional money raised would be put towards her medical bills, it added.

She suddenly fell ill in March

Ms Jay's cousin Claire Daly described her as "a really vibrant, sparkly, bright personality - great fun, really caring".

She added: "She was a really dedicated and passionate social worker who helped some of the region's most vulnerable families, she did that for over a decade."

Although Ms Jay had medical insurance, some of the treatment she received in hospital and the medical flight were not covered by her insurance policy, her family said.

"She had emergency life-saving surgery on the 20 March and over the course of the subsequent 11 days she was in and out of surgery," Ms Daly said.

"We are super-thankful that she is still with us, but she's still very poorly."

She added the family was unsure of the long-term effects for Ms Jay but said rehabilitation would "give her the best possible chance of regaining her cognitive and physical abilities".

The family said it hoped to arrange a medical repatriation flight home this week but was awaiting confirmation that she was fit to fly from her doctors in Spain.