SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - An 81-year-old San Marcos woman has returned home after a life-altering fall during a dream vacation in Europe, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down.
On April 7, Pat Zook and her friend Marianne were on day two of a trip that was to end in a two-week river cruise along the Danube River when the incident occurred. According to Pat's son, Daren, the two women had gone to an Italian restaurant for dinner in Amsterdam.
“Her friend was paying the bill. She went to the bathroom. She had to go down a hallway, down some stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, there was an extra small stair that was not marked," Daren said. “As she stepped down into it, she slipped, fell, slammed her head against a door that was leading to the bathrooms."
Pat was discovered by a server and rushed to a hospital. Pat’s neck was broken in three places and her spinal cord was compressed. She required emergency surgery to save her life.
"The minute I walked into the room, she just broke down crying, and I did too," Daren said. "She didn't want me to see her in her current state."
Pat, a former public health nurse and school nurse, has struggled to cope with her new reality of being paralyzed from the waist down, according to her son.
"She's just overwhelmed and depressed by the situation and the fact that she knows that she won't be independent in the way that she was before ever again," Daren said.
Pat arrived back home in the San Diego area on Tuesday, accompanied by two nurses, and is now at a rehabilitation facility in North County.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help Pat, who did not have travel insurance, with medical and flight costs that could exceed $50,000.
"Just a lot of people stepping up to help," Daren said. "I'm hopeful that she can look at the things that she still can do and find independence through that. And I'm hopeful that we can continue to support her and help her live her life in a new way.”
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