Dad loses both legs and four fingers after Italy holiday 'nightmare'

A man is now living a 'nightmare' after taking his family on an Italian holiday for a much-needed summer break. Alessandro Luciano, his five children and his wife Iljhama Luciano ventured to Southern Italy last year.

But what was meant to be a relaxing family holiday went badly wrong when Alessandro came down with a fever. Black spots started appearing on his limbs.

He said: “My legs were burning, and black spots suddenly appeared on my feet and hands.”

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He was rushed to hospital and diagnosed with a meningococcal type B infection accompanied by a rare and extremely serious complication, purpura fulminans. This condition can be life-threatening and causes the tissue of the affected areas to die.

The electrician was a fit and healthy dad-of-five, having recently renovated the family’s fifth-floor apartment himself. But his health quickly started to decline.

He was transfered to a hospital in his home city of Stuttgart, Germany where both of his lower legs had to be amputated. He also lost four fingers on his right hand, part of the middle finger on his left hand while his last remaining index finger is “severly restricted” after the life-saving procedures in August last year.

Iljhama told Need to Know: “We lived happily with our five children. And then our nightmare began.

“After many difficult months caring for my mother, we went on vacation to southern Italy. But we were not allowed to be happy, our hearts shattered into more than 1,000 pieces.”

After the harrowing ordeal, the dad-of-five now faced a new battle: the five-storey climb to his home. Alessandro had been fit and healthy enough to renovate the fifth-floor apartment before the family holiday, but now it posed a serious challenge.

Iljhama said: “I currently carry him up and down the five floors twice a day using a stair climber – a total weight of over 100kg. This not only puts a heavy strain on my health, it also takes away his last vestiges of independence and dignity.”

The couple first met when they were just 14 years old and have been married for the last 15, although they’ve been in a committed relationship for more than two decades.

Iljhama continued: “A stair lift is not possible under building regulations and modern wheelchairs with caterpillar drive are also excluded due to the small platform areas in the stairwell.

“An external elevator is our only hope, but this costs several tens of thousands of Euros – and we cannot finance it. The fact that he's now completely dependent on me, barely mobile, hurts him deeply, and it tears me apart inside.”

An external elevator will cost more than £121,000. But determined to find a way through this new challenge, Iljhama set up a GoFundMe campaign - you can donate using the link - and has raised £43,278 so far.