A DAD was left fighting for his life after a horror plunge from a hotel balcony – because he was scared of MOTHS.
Kirk Shepherd, 34, plummeted 45ft from the third floor of Pine Bay Hotel, in Kusadasi,– after he got spooked when he was attacked by a swarm of the winged insects.
Kirk, from Lichfield, Staffordshire, has a phobia of moths – and when they started flocking around him he lost his footing and fell over the balcony.
Wife Joy, 45, and daughter Tyllar, 12, rushed to the balcony to see what had happened – and were horrified to see him crumpled on the floor, covered in blood.
Kirk was suffered a massive brain haemorrhage, and spent 24 hours on life support and four days in a medically induced coma, as well as three weeks in a Turkish hospital.
He also had a catalogue of injuries, including a perforated ear drum which has left him partially deaf, a broken shoulder bone, six broken ribs and a fractured vertebrae.
Terrified wife Joy was scared he wouldn’t pull through, and hysterical daughter Tyllar thought he was DEAD – but incredibly he managed to make a miraculous recovery.
Kirk, a delivery driver, said: “We’d just been enjoying normal holiday activities – we’d been at the water park in the day and went to watch a magic show in the amphitheatre that evening, before heading back to the room.
“I’d gone out onto the balcony for a breath of fresh air – I’m scared of moths as it is, and when they started swarming around me I tried to escape, and lost my footing.
“I don’t really remember anything after that.”
The family-of-three had gone on what was supposed to be an idyllic two-week get-away at the end of May last year, with a group of 15 family and close friends – but just two days in, disaster struck.
Joy, a nursing assistant, said: “I saw Kirk go over, and Tyllar and I rushed out to the balcony.
“We looked over and just saw him crumpled on the floor, there was blood everywhere. It was horrendous – we were both just screaming and screaming, it was absolute madness. I immediately thought the worst.” Kirk was rushed to hospital, where medics battled to save him.
Joy added: “Family even flew out to Turkey, because we didn’t know if he would make it. But Kirk eventually came out of hospital after three weeks, and two weeks after that we were allowed to fly home. Thomas Cook were amazing through everything – they really helped us with arranging hotels and flights.”
A year on Kirk still struggles physically, and the whole family have been left traumatised by the horror. Kirk said: “It has been a struggle – I’ve recently gone back to work, but I’m still in a lot of pain.
“I don’t remember the accident at all, but Joy and Tyllar saw it happen, so it’s affected them a lot as well – Tyllar is still traumatised. At least I’m alive.”