A British tourist who went missing on a night out in Thailand has been found in hospital hooked up to a life support machine, and now his family are making a desperate plea.
Ashton Jones went to Bangkok with a friend on 30 May and they met another of their friends out in Thailand, but the 29-year-old got separated from them while on holiday.
Five days into the trip he disappeared from a nightclub they were in, and he was later found at Chonburi Hospital undergoing emergency brain surgery, with doctors believing that the Brit was violently attacked.
The missing man, who suffers from epilepsy, was fighting for his life while his family were on the other side of the world with no idea what had happened to Ashton.
Advert
Since his trip to Thailand was a last-minute decision he didn't get any insurance and his family are trying to raise money through a GoFundMe, which you can donate to here, so they can pay for Ashton's medical bills and his travel back to the UK.
The fundraiser has been set up by his grandmother Beverly Walker, who said: "I am deeply concerned that without immediate financial or diplomatic assistance, my grandson may not survive.
"The emotional toll on our family is immense. We are heartbroken and fearful, watching from afar while Ashton suffers without the care he urgently requires."
She explained that days after Ashton ended up in Chonburi Hospital on 3 June staff tried to wake him up and were successful in doing so.
However, Beverly said that since being woken up her grandson was 'bed-bound and suffering with fits, cannot talk, eat or drink and isn't aware'.
Unfortunately she said that the cost of her grandson's treatment was 'far beyond what our family can afford'.
"In the meantime, Ashton's condition continues to deteriorate, and it feels as though we are being left helpless as time runs out," the grandmother said of being stuck on the other side of the world while Ashton was in hospital in Thailand.
"We have already put together life savings for medical bills, flights, travel, accommodation to be with him but would never be able to afford to get him home to better health care and his family.
"We all as a family are worried sick with fear for Ashton and how we can bring him home."
The family are hoping to raise £50,000 to cover the cost of his medical bills and get him some travel back home.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We are supporting a British man who has been hospitalised in Thailand and are in contact with the local authorities."
Topics: UK News, GoFundMe, Travel, World News, Health
Joe Harker