A MOTHER has posted shocking pictures of her young child covered head to foot in an agonising rash while on her wedding holiday to the Dominican Republic.
Tracey McCallion’s daughter contracted hand, foot and mouth disease during the Thomas Cook holiday and she is furious the firm failed to warn her about the prevalence of the condition.
Isla-Rae’s nails fell off as a result of catching the illness shortly after the family celebrated her mum and dad’s wedding on the Caribbean island.
Tracey, whose family paid in the region of £1,400 per person for the break last April, decided to go public now because she says Thomas Cook have not handled her complaint properly.
And Isla-Rae, now two, still bears some of the marks of the illness on her skin.
Tracey, from Bradford, is furious because Thomas Cook staff at the resort told her the disease is “as common as the cold” but she was not given any warning before leaving the UK.
Tracey, the groom Kieran McCallion, Isla-Rae, aged one, and 24 other family members stayed at the Bahia Principe Hotels & Resorts booked through Thomas Cook.
Tracey complained: “Thomas Cook said it’s as common as a cold in the Dominican Republic! Wish they had explained that before family & friends spent thousands to join us while we travelled backwards and forwards to hospital. Why is no one informed?”
The pictures show Isla-Rae clearly in agony with blotches over left arm, with some looking particularly sore over her wrist.
Another image shows her legs almost completely covered with spots, bumps and extreme redness.
Kelly Oates responded: “Omg the poor girl.”
Claire Lewyckyj-Smith commented: “Terrible, poor baby girl! Spending thousands to have holiday/wedding of your dreams and your baby ends up in hospital She must of been in so much pain.”
Lulu Freeman said: “They should hang their heads in shame.”
Megan McCallion commented: “I bet Thomas cook don’t even acknowledge this post! Will never book a holiday with them again, poor baby.”
Elaine John Bridgestock said: “I hope you took it further with them Tracey, poor love you all went through hell!”
Commenting on the post, Isla-Rae’s Dad Kieran insists she still has scars from the disease.
He said: “Still marked skin from it though and Thomas cook didn’t give a toss! Or the resort.”
Speaking today, Tracey, who works for Slimming World, explained how her little girl became poorly around a week after the wedding in April 2018.
She said: “We travelled to three different hospitals before she became so poorly that the hospital argued for hours with the insurers so they would agree to pay and let the hospital treat her.
“We were admitted and treated with no idea what with or what she had due to no one speaking English. A German family at the Bahia at the same time did actually mention three children being in hospital with hand foot and mouth, but we didn’t relate this to Isla-Rae.
“The Thomas Cook rep on location said unfortunately these things happen to small children over here.”
She then went on to describe what happened when the family returned home and the lack of service she claims to have received rom Thomas Cook.
Tracey added: “We had numerous trips to the doctors who were unsure what she had been treated for and at this time Thomas Cook said if it was impetigo then it is just passed between children.
“Weeks later Isla-Raes fingernails and toenails all began to fall off and when returning to the drs we were told it had been a severe case of hand foot and mouth.”
“When my husband spoke to them [Thomas Cook] regarding this they said unfortunately it is as common as a cold and when I emailed a rep to find out if there was an update, answers or even just a response from Thomas Cook they never even replied.
“I think as a company the customer service is disgusting and if they had mentioned the chances of any type of illnesses for children in the Dominican Republic we would have booked somewhere else.
“All families should be informed of all risks no matter how small.”
A Thomas Cook insider confirmed there had been three other cases of the disease reported to the hotel in July last year but Isla-Rae’s was the only case in April.
The source added that the arrangements were made for Tracey to take food from the buffet to Isla-Rae in hospital.
A Thomas Cook spokesman said: “We were very sorry to hear that Mrs McCallion’s daughter became ill while on holiday and our reps did everything they could to support her and her family at the time.
“We take illness seriously and monitor all reported cases, including those which are viral such as Hand, Foot and Mouth disease.
“We had no other reported cases at the hotel in April 2018. We have not had any contact with Mrs McCallion since last August when she told us she was seeking legal advice.”
