Alan Kirby, a 67-year-old car valeter from Marston Magna, Somerset, died from septic shock on Monday in an Athens hospital after falling ill during a family holiday in Zante.
The father figure had been on ventilator support since early August and never recovered from a medically-induced coma.
Kirby initially thought severe pain in his torso during a family dinner was simply from "throwing his stepdaughter's children around in the sea" earlier that day. He looked "dreadful, grey and pale" during the meal and returned to his hotel, but woke up breathless the next morning and sought medical help.
Local doctors discovered a mass in his right lung and suspected cancer, advising the family to return to the UK for a biopsy.
However, Kirby's condition rapidly deteriorated with his oxygen levels dropping to just 36%.
The family's travel insurance was invalidated when the company discovered Kirby had not declared the lung mass as a pre-existing condition.
They said British doctors had previously told him in December 2024 that the mass was benign fatty tissue and nothing to worry about, but insurers considered it undisclosed medical history.
This left the family facing a £14,000 bill for five days of private hospital care in Athens before Kirby was transferred to a state hospital covered by his Global Health Insurance Card.
The family had wanted to raise £45,000 to bring him home via air ambulance.
Sources used: "Liverpool Echo", "Mirror", "Express" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
