A retired Yakima nurse is back in Washington after a devastating fall left her stranded in a Turkish hospital, unsure if she would survive.
YAKIMA, Wash. — A retired Washington state nurse is back in Yakima after a fall during a European trip left her stranded for weeks in a Turkish hospital with multiple broken bones.
Dionetta Hudzinski, 78, returned to Washington after what she described as a “nightmare” overseas, where she said she was unsure whether she would make it home.
“I had no idea whether I would ever survive in that hospital,” Hudzinski said.
Earlier this month, Hudzinski spoke with KING 5 from her hospital bed in Istanbul, where she said she had been waiting days for proper care after falling down an escalator at the airport during a layover en route to Rome. The fall left her with a broken hip, femur and arm.
“I was in the emergency room for more than 24 hours. I had never been offered water, food or pain medication,” she said.
Hudzinski had been traveling to Europe for what she called a trip of a lifetime, including a planned visit to the Vatican over Easter weekend. Instead, she remained bedridden in a foreign hospital, describing the experience as “the worst nightmare you could ever imagine.”
Her niece later flew to Turkey to help advocate for her care as Hudzinski faced surgery. Back in the United States, her family launched a GoFundMe campaign that raised tens of thousands of dollars after KING 5 aired her story, helping pay for medical assistance during her flight back to the United States.
“I thank everybody who donated because without that I think I would still be in Istanbul,” Hudzinski said.
She was eventually transported back to Washington, where she received treatment at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle before returning to Yakima, where she lives, to continue her recovery.
“I have returned and I’m safe. And I know that I’m going to get the care that I need,” she said.
Hudzinski said she faces a long recovery and is not yet able to walk, but she is already looking ahead. She hopes to attempt her trip to the Vatican again next Easter — with one key change: no layovers in Turkey.
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