A father of two from Birmingham is fighting for his life in a Turkish hospital after suddenly being left with 'no feeling on one side of his body' following a fall at the gym just hours after flying out on holiday with his family.
Marlon McCormack, 51, suffered a bleed on the brain and is currently in an induced coma while his family plead for donations to help urgently raise funds to pay his medical bills.
Fiancée Anna Ryan, 41, says she has put down £3,000 for his care but is now being asked to fork out £24,000 for additional treatment as they do not have travel insurance.
'Marlon got up early to go to the gym,' she told BirminghamLive a day after the freak accident. 'He came back and said he'd fallen while he was there.
'He went back to sleep and when he woke up he couldn't stand - it looked like he'd had a stroke. We called an ambulance and he was rushed to hospital.'
Marlon (left) said he fell while at the gym on holiday in Turkey, before losing feeling in his body
The forklift operator from Chelmsley Wood had planned a 'last-minute' getaway with his family, leaving for Turkey on Wednesday.
Anna said she slept in on Thursday morning as Marlon got up early to go to the gym.
When Marlon returned and was rushed to hospital, Anna was told her fiancé's treatment would go ahead without the payment - but that the money would need to be found.
A fundraiser set up on GoFundMe confirmed today that Marlon had the operation on Thursday.
'Due to the language barrier we believed it was a success, however they were unable to remove all the mass on his brain from the brain bleed and he remains in a critical condition,' organiser Cherry Ryan wrote.
She thanked donors for their support, with nearly £10,000 raised already.
On Thursday, she said that Marlon had been placed in an induced coma in intensive care while the family remained 'at his side'.
She said the cost of the surgery would be £24,000 plus £1,500 a day in care for four weeks of recovery.
They previously said the hospital had demanded £25,000 up front for the treatment.
Donors have left touching words of tribute in support for Marlon as he undergoes care.
'Having had a fall only last night whilst on holiday I really feel for you, I was very lucky and ended up with stitches only but I would like to think there would have been someone there for me too. Best of luck to you all x' said Neil Phillips.
'Get well soon soldier I'm praying for you,' wrote Mark Ward.
'Marlon, wishing you a full and speedy recovery. From all the team at RCM Ltd,' added Kiran Gill.
Anna Ryan (R) said she had raised the initial £3,000 payment for Marlon's (CR) treatment - but the family are now crowdfunding for support with the hospital asking for tens of thousands
Anna said: 'I'm being asked to pay loads of money I don't have.
'They want £24,000 for surgery and then it's four weeks of recovery which we'd need to fund too.
'We don't have that kind of money - I don't know what to do.
'Something like this has never happened to me.
'We need as much help as we can get.'