Scottish man fights for his life in Thai hospital
A Scottish man is fighting for his life in a Thai hospital after a virus triggered a respiratory disease and rendered him unconscious while on holiday.
Robert Kessell flew to Thailand on November 24 for a three-week holiday but was struck by illness on Thursday, December 8.
The 66 year old, from Wishaw in North Lanarkshire, was rushed to Pattaya City Hospital by a close friend called Rose.
Kessell spent the next two weeks fighting for his life while unconscious on a ventilator after suffering from an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
The sexagenarian made a bit of a recovery and was taken off of his ventilator last week but there is still a long way to go.
Rose managed to contact a close family friend of Kessell who wants to get him home to Newmains, North Lanarkshire.
Linda Ross told The Daily Record that Kessell was in hospital unconscious and on a ventilator.
The 43 year old said…
“The doctors said he was probably going to pass away.
“There was no change at all and then one day last week, Rob woke up and he was trying to cough up something. They managed to take him off the ventilator but he is still on oxygen and he can’t communicate.
“Rob is fighting harder than they thought he could. He’s not ready to die.”
The former painter and decorator has accumulated a £7,000 medical bill but can only afford to pay for a few days of treatment and won’t be allowed to travel home until a lump sum of his bill is paid and a payment plan is approved.
A fundraising page has been set up to help pay for the former army veteran to come home.
“Rob not being here with us is a big absence. I consider him like family. I’ve never known him to be unwell.
“We are trying everything we can to get him home. It might be a shot in the dark but he’s fighting and so am I.”
Donations to the fundraising page can be made by clicking here.
A spokesperson for The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office made a statement yesterday saying…
“We are providing support to a British man who has been hospitalised in Thailand.”
