Fergal McDonagh is 28 and from Roundstone in County Galway. He is pictured with our carer Scott Roberts. This is Fergal’s story: “I started having back problems 6 or 7 months ago. I thought it would go away but it didn’t. In the end I had to go see my GP. It (my back pain) had started affecting work. “There were very long waiting lists so I went to see a consultant privately. It cost me €280 for the MRI and €290 for a consultation which lasted minutes. He told me I would need €9,700 for back surgery. I’m assuming there would have been other charges pre-op.

“Then a friend asked me why I wasn’t going to Spain to get it done. He had seen Healthcare Abroad on social media. So, I called them straight away. I was told I could be in the HCB Hospital in Benidorm in a matter of weeks. “Paul in Healthcare Abroad helped me secure a loan from Connemara Credit Union. Healthcare Abroad do all the paperwork so I will get my operation costs back from the HSE. “When we landed in Alicante a lovely gentleman called Santiago was waiting for us. I honestly couldn’t believe it. He took us to our hotel and everything was amazing after that. “Scott then stepped in and looked after us. He was brilliant throughout.

The friendliness of the Healthcare Abroad team, the hospital team and Dr Karim was incredible. I couldn’t get over it to be honest. Dr Karim explained everything in detail before the operation and checked in with me so many times afterwards. “I spent 2 nights in the hospital. My pain was completely gone straight after the operation. I just can’t believe it.

“I want to thank everyone for all their help. It is a pretty amazing service with Healthcare Abroad and I’d say to anyone in a similar position to get on that plane to Spain. You won’t regret it.”