Sienna-Rose was rushed to hospital where specialists medics carried out a life-saving op to remove a blood clot.

A mum has said how her family’s once in a lifetime trip to Mexico turned into a nightmare when their toddler suffered a brain haemorrhage. Natasha Sargeant’s daughter Sienna-Rose suddenly collapsed while she was playing with her older brothers in Cancun earlier this week.

The 19-month-old was rushed to hospital where specialists medics carried out a life-saving op to remove a blood clot. As the Echo reports, the devastated family are now stranded thousands of miles from their home as they face an anxious wait to find out if Sienna-Rose has any lasting brain damage.

Speaking from Cancun hospital, mum Natasha said: “I don’t have any words to describe what we have been through – it’s been absolutely horrific.”

Natasha and her partner Liam Millen, 39, from Liverpool, had been sight-seeing around Mexico with children Harry, 13, Liam, 11, and Sienna-Rose when the toddler collapsed at their apartment. Natasha said the family were packing and planning the next part of their journey to Tulum when Sienna-Rose “dropped to the floor like she was having a seizure”.

She added: “Next minute she was constantly vomiting. We didn’t know if she had banged her head.” The family rushed to the nearest hospital but were told it would cost £4,000 up front for a CT scan and an overnight stay. The family were refused treatment so instead went to another hospital which was 30 minutes away only to find the CT machine was broken.

Natasha said by the time they were admitted into a third hospital Sienna-Rose had “vomited about 50 times”. A CT scan showed her brain had suffered a haemorrhage and had doubled in size due to the amount of fluid. The mum said: “Most of the doctors and nurses couldn’t speak English and we don’t speak Spanish so it was difficult to communicate.

“I was beside myself – I was begging the surgeon to save her life. He said he did this surgery all the time. His assistant said he was the best neurosurgeon in the country and if she didn’t have the surgery she would die.” Sienna-Rose was in surgery for around three-and-a-half hours to have a blood clot removed.

Natasha said the surgeon had told the family the clot had been there for a number of months and “she was a ticking timebomb”. The mum said: “It’s been absolutely horrendous. She is the most happy, lovely little baby. To see her like this is absolutely horrendous. I would never wish what we are going through on anyone.”

Natasha said the hospital is hot and does not have air conditioning. The hospital also does not have paracetamol which has meant Natasha and Liam have been taking it in turns to find local pharmacies. The mum said: “I’ve been running around to buy some to try and help bring down her fever. If not it will kill her.”

The family is only allowed one person in hospital at the time meaning Natasha and Liam have been taking shifts to either be by Sienna-Rose’s bedside or looking after the boys. The family has rented an apartment close to the hospital so they can be together as much as possible.

Natasha said: “The boys are so traumatised but have been amazing. They are devastated that they can’t go and see her. We all just want to get out here. The surgeon says the next steps depend on how she responds to see if there is any lasting damage.”

The toddler currently has a shunt into her head, which will be removed depending on how she responds. Natasha said her daughter is sedated at the moment so only wakes up for minutes at a time. If they can remove the shunt the hospital will start to wean Sienna-Rose onto solid food.

However, Natasha said the family does not know what will happen next as they wait to find out if permanent damage has been done. They do not know how long they will be in Mexico away from their loved ones, or if Sienna-Rose will be able to fly back as they are unsure if she has any more blood clots.

Natasha said the British Embassy had been in touch and said a medical flight would be best, but that the family would have to pay for it themselves. Natasha said it would cost around £45,000 for the specialist flight which is money the family does not have. A fundraiser has been set up by Natasha’s sister-in-law Amy McFadden to help the family with medical and transportation costs.

Natasha added: “We have been getting messages of support but it’s not like people can just jump on a flight because we’re 10 hours away. We really appreciate all the offers of help and support.”

She added: “I can’t describe the feeling over the past three days. It’s been the worst days of our lives. The hardest thing is not knowing. What do we do? We are putting all our trust in the doctors to save Sienna. It feels so lonely. We were supposed to be making memories with the family – it’s absolutely heartbreaking.”

You can donate to the fundraiser for Sienna-Rose here.