A FAMILY on holiday in Florida have said their attempts to make new memories following the tragic death of a loved one have turned 'into a nightmare' after the collapse of travel giant Thomas Cook.

Mother-of-two Karen McKeown, along with her two kids, mother, sister and her four nieces and nephews are currently fraught with uncertainty after the company announced they would cease trading on Monday.

The 31-year-old, who is staying in Orlando with her family, had hoped to use the trip abroad to put a miserable two years behind them since the death of Karen's partner Luke Henderson in December 2017.

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Mr Henderson, who is survived by his and Karen's two children, was found dead in his home shortly after Christmas, nearly two years ago.

After months and year of campaigning for better mental health provision following Luke's death – which included calling on the the Scottish Government to hold FAIs after all suicides at Holyrood – Karen had hoped that the trip to the US would provide some comfort to the family.

But after having not slept for two days and a growing stress of returning home, Karen says the ordeal has ruined the final few days as they anxiously wait to see when they will make it home.

She added: "We really haven’t sleep most of the night trying to find out what is happening.

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"We are getting no information from Thomas Cook apart from what is on the website. There is only information up for people flying today and tomorrow.

"After everything we have been through losing my partner, we were trying to make new memories with the kids and this just put a dampener on the last few days.

"This holiday meant everything to us. Me and Luke dreamed about taking the kids to Florida.

"Now we are trying to make new memories but just feel like it is turning into a nightmare."

Issues over travel are complicated due to the additional needs of some of the children currently in Orlando.

One of Karen's kids, as well as three of her sisters, live with autism, which complicated holidays from their home in Bellshill.

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Although they have two days of their trip remaining, Karen claims she has been provided with no information as yet by Thomas Cook, instead being directed to a helpline.

They are also worried about the potential impact of any amended return trip could have, with trains booked to Motherwell from Manchester, where their flight lands, which could be missed.

Ms McKeown now fears the uncertainty over their travel arrangements could have a terrible effect on the children.

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She added: "We are due to fly into Manchester and we have book a train back to Motherwell and unsure if we make it back in time for the train.

"We also have four autistic kids between me and my sister and most likely they will have a meltdown if plans change with no notice.

"We really have no idea what is going to happen and are waiting to find out.

"If we have to stay here long the kids will not cope.

"I feel like we have nothing but bad luck. Everything always seems to go wrong."