EXCLUSIVE 'I fell from a balcony during lads' holiday in Ayia Napa and I've been in hospital in agony for weeks, with nightmares every night and I can't walk. I was an idiot - this is my warning to others'
Sam Hudson, 24, had been partying with his brother and a pal at the resort town when he tumbled from the second floor of his hotel while drunk.
The single dad said he is 'absolutely kicking myself' at not taking out travel insurance because of the hefty hospital bill he has been left with as doctors have been desperately trying to mend his broken back, pelvis and leg.
'I know I was an idiot,' he told MailOnline.
But the decorator from Lincoln said that wouldn't have even made a difference as he had drunk more than four pints and would not be covered.
'It's just not something you'd think about', he explained. He also advised all travellers make sure they had a Global Health Insurance Card before jetting off.
Mr Hudson, who has a two-year-old son, left a pool party alone on June 15 when a passerby spotted him trying to walk between balconies at the Anmaria Beach Hotel, where he was staying.
It is believed he was trying to reach his brother's room - which was next door - but Mr Hudson says he can't remember anything before the fall.
'I don't even remember falling, it's just a blur. I haven't got a clue to be honest why I was walking between balconies, I'd never done something like that before.
'Apparently I went to another hospital before this one but I don't remember that either.
'Its scary that I can't remember anything but I would get awful nightmares at the beginning.
'My first memory is being on all these machines but I've tried to block out all that stuff because I was in so much pain.'
The passerby phoned the emergency services when they saw Mr Hudson plunge from the balcony. He was then rushed to a local clinic, Famagusta hospital in Paralimni, before being transferred to the biggest hospital on the island, Nicosia General Hospital.
Doctors said at the time Mr Hudson, who was in 'unimaginable pain', was 'lucky to be alive'. They operated on his pelvis a week ago.
'It's been getting better since the operation, I can finally get up and I spent an hour in the wheelchair today, but I'm still in absolute agony which is to be expected since I've been laying down for so long,' Mr Hudson said.
'I've been going stir crazy, there's only so many things you can watch on Netflix. I zone out now I hardly even watch it anymore.
'I also miss my son so much, I FaceTime him a couple times a day but he's too little to understand why I'm not there. I hope I can see him when I leave hospital.'
He said he didn't regret going on this trip but wished others would not have to go through what he has had to go through.
'I will not be going on another lad's holiday though,' he said and revealed that he will only stay in rooms on the ground floor.
'I'm definitely scared of heights now.'
His brother, Nathan, and their friend only discovered the terrifying accident when they returned to the hotel where they were met by police waiting in the lobby.
Mr Hudson's stepmother, Karen, and her husband flew out the next day to be with their son and have had to fly back and forth while trying to manage their business.
'You just go totally numb, it was the worst phone call you could get. Your mind goes straight for the worst,' Mrs Hudson told MailOnline.
The 'devastated' family have set up a GoFundMe to cover health costs after they were faced with paying for a repatriation plane - which costs around £16,000 - or staying in Cyprus for the duration of Mr Hudson's recovery.
Nathan is said to be in shock after seeing his brother in hospital and was unable to eat or sleep immediately after the accident.
Ms Hudson said: 'You know what young boys are like but I never could have predicted something like this would happen.
'Doctors at the hospital have said he's lucky to be alive or to not have more severe damage.
'Even though the balcony is second floor, the hotel is on a slope and there's a restaurant too, so it's more like the fourth floor.
'If the passerby hadn't seen him, Sam could have been lying there for much longer because their room was at the back of the hotel.
She added: 'We told him so many times before he left that he needed to get travel insurance but he didn't listen.
'I want the government to make it a legal requirement that all young people must have travel insurance before travelling because I don't another family to have to go through what we have.
'I've heard of families having to remortgage their house or sell their car to cover costs of accidents like this - all because they didn't think to take out insurance.'
The cops have launched an investigation into the circumstances.
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