Busselton grandmother fighting for life in Bali after horror fall

A Busselton grandmother is fighting for her life in a Bali hospital after a horror fall left her with six severe fractures that led to a serious adverse reaction to pain medication.

Estelle Ravenscroft, 79, was on holiday in Bail with her husband Keith last weekend when the couple went out for lunch. While in the bathroom, Estelle, who suffers with osteoporosis, slipped and fell into an open stairwell, landing on the steps below.

She suffered six severe fractures across her upper legs - three in her right leg and three in her left. She was rushed by ambulance to hospital, where emergency assessments and X-rays revealed that the breaks were so bad, they required manual realignment.

Estelle then suffered a reaction to the opiod injection she was given to manage her pain.

“Her vital signs plummeted, she began convulsing, and her condition deteriorated so dramatically that her family feared they were about to lose her,” Estelle’s great niece Brieanna Fisher said.

Fisher said that due to the extent of her fractures, the medical team had to manually realign both legs before placing them into traction using weights. Her reaction to the pain medication limited the pain relief she could receive during this period.

Estelle later underwent a gruelling nine-hour emergency operation which left her requiring two blood transfusions due to blood loss.

The 79-year-old has continued to experience serious complications involving her heart, oxygen levels and blood requiring ongoing intensive care, oxygen support and further medical treatment.

“Her family remains deeply concerned about her condition and the uncertainty surrounding her recovery,” Fisher said.

Compounding the family’s stress is the fact that Estelle does not have travel insurance.

“Keith is required to pay the hospital’s medical charges every single day, including when he leaves the hospital,” Fisher said.

“The family is facing mounting costs associated with ambulance transport, medical imaging, intensive care, emergency surgery, blood transfusions and ongoing treatment.”

A GoFundMe campaign has so far raised almost $12,000 of a $100,000 target.

While being discharged from the hospital in Bali is still a long way off, Estelle’s family are already concerned about medically appropriate transport home and then her care once back in Australia.