The nephew of a Niagara war hero who was part of the famed “great escape” in the Second World War is stuck in a Czech Republic hospital in a coma, and the medical bills are starting to pile up.
Gordon Kidder, a 74-year-old St. Catharines resident, recently travelled to Poland and the Czech Republic to pay respect to his uncle’s service in the Second World War.
Gordon’s uncle, who he is named after, was a part of the 1944 “great escape” of soldiers from a Nazi-occupied camp in modern-day Poland.
Gordon has travelled to the region in the past, and recently made another trip there to mark the 75th anniversary of the great escape, which was the basis of a Hollywood movie with the same name.
“My father basically went to Poland and the Czech Republic … to pay respect to his uncle who sacrificed his life,” said Gordon’s son, Andrew Kidder.
“He’s had, like many other people, a respect for what he did and the sacrifices he made.”
But on the trip, Gordon suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and has been in a Prague hospital ever since.
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He remains there in the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) in a coma.
To make matters worse, Gordon has limited insurance coverage and medical bills are beginning to pile up, all while Andrew is struggling to get him back home.
A GoFundMe page has been started to try to raise enough funds to bring Gordon back to Canada.
As of the afternoon of April 30, with $46,300, they raised just under half of the money Andrew says is needed to bring Gordon back home.
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