This fundraising to support Elias’s family in Greece and cover the cost of ICU air ambulance transfer when he is well enough to return home.

Dear friends, family, and compassionate strangers,

I’m setting up this Just Giving, Crowdfunding page on behalf of Elias, and his incredibly brave family, his mum Maria and sisters Jenny and Yiota, who are currently by his side in Zakynthos (Zante), Greece, where he remains critically ill in ICU.

Elias was taken seriously unwell just before he was due to fly home from a family holiday. What began as an infection quickly escalated into severe sepsis and multi organ failure. He was admitted to Zakynthos State Hospital and transferred to intensive care on July 23rd, where he is now on full life support, including ventilation and dialysis.

The hope is that when he stabilises, Elias will be flown home to the UK by ICU air ambulance for further treatment and potentially a life saving liver transplant. Unfortunately, this type of transfer is not covered by insurance, and the family are now facing significant, urgent expenses, including accommodation, food, local transport, and costs related to repatriation.

Elias is self employed and unable to work, so this fund will also help support him financially while he recovers. All donations will go directly towards:

• Daily living costs for Maria, Jenny, and Yiota while they stay near the ICU

• Costs associated with a potential ICU medical repatriation to the UK

• Ongoing support for Elias during his recovery

Now, in their own words, here is a message from Elias’s family:

Dear family, friends, and kind-hearted strangers,

We are currently over in Zante with our beloved son and brother Elias, he is currently in an induced coma which means we are only allowed to visit him 30 minutes per day, to hold his hand, to speak to him, and remind him just how loved he is. We won’t give up until we get him home.

Our mum flew out on July 23rd to join us, and the three of us remain here to support Elias for as long as he needs. We have been told he must remain in Greece until he is stable enough to fly home on a specialist ICU air ambulance, which isn’t covered by insurance.

Elias is a hard-working, single 47 year old man from Loughborough, Leicestershire. He’s a tiler by trade, unbelievably passionate about his dogs back home, and has dedicated his life to his dogs and the showing world. He also loves fishing and has spent many hours dedicated to fulfilling his 2nd passion. He has spent much of his life travelling the world, through entertainment and dance, he makes friends everywhere he goes. Elias is such a strong, loyal, caring, funny and talented person, his Greek heritage means family is everything to him, and right now he needs all of us more than ever.

The love and support we’ve received so far has helped us keep strong and has helped him survive these terrifying days. We are clinging to the hope that we’ll be able to fly him home to the UK as soon as he's able to to continue the long, scary, and ongoing road to recovery.

We are a very hard-working family and have never asked for help before, but in this difficult and uncertain time, we humbly ask for your support.

Every donation, no matter how small, will go directly towards his care, family support, and repatriation.

Your kindness gives our son and brother the fighting chance he deserves. He is so deeply loved and so desperately needed back home in the UK where he belongs with his family and much loved dogs.

Please bear with us as we’re not able to respond to individual messages at this time, we are completely focused on Elias and his care. We promise to post daily updates here so everyone can follow his progress.

With all our hearts, thank you for your love and support.

Maria, Jenny & Yiota x