A family is distraught after a student sustained critical injuries when he fell from a third-storey balcony while travelling across Thailand.
Nursing student Jack Heathcock, 21, was on a trip of a lifetime backpacking through Thailand with a couple of pals when crisis struck on June 17.
On the day, which was just two days before he was due to flying home, the Teeside University student plummetted from the third storey balcony of his hotel in Chiang Mai in the northwest of the country.
He was left in critical condition and fighting for his life thousands of miles and a 14-hour flight from home.
Paramedics raced him to hospital where he underwent surgery to repair the severe trauma on his spleen, liver and kidneys.
During the operation, doctors discovered bleeds on his lungs and brain, and he had fractures to the neck and pelvis.
He has been stuck in critical condition for two weeks, but now his family - who have been beside themselves with worry - are trying to raise the funds needed to get him home.
One of Jack's friends delivered the news to his parents, Ian and Joy, who immediately jumped on a plane to be at his bedside.
He did have travel insurance at the time he set out on the trip, but are now refusing to pay out for the costs involved of getting him home, say his parents.
Jack's sister Chloe, 26, explained: "Jack did have a travel insurance policy in place for the trip and my parents have been in regular contact with the travel insurance company and the British Embassy in Thailand.
"Unfortunately following their investigations, the insurers have deemed that due to the circumstances of the incident they will not be covering the claim. We are looking to appeal this decision but are heartbroken that we are left with total costs expected to exceed £40,000, this is not an amount that we as a family can afford."
The circumstances of Jack's fall are not yet clear and the family is still unsure of how the accident occurred or who was with him at the time. Doctors have informed the family that the former Roseberry Park worker is unlikely to be stable enough to travel for at least another month, but his family are desperate to get him home safely and as soon as possible, reports Teesside Live.
Chloe has been holding the fort at home in Redcar while her parents are in Thailand and has been liaising with the insurance company, her parents workplaces. She had also been trying to raise funds to get her little brother home.
She explained: "It's the type of thing you read about, but never expect to happen to your family."
They have now turned to fundraising efforts to get Jack the best possible care and return him home, with his big sister launching a GoFundMe page in an effort to help with costs. Some of the student's friends have also helped her organise a fundraising evening which will take place at Dormans Club in Middlesbrough on Friday, July 14.
At the moment, Jack is still in a critical condition and is currently being treated for an infection to his stomach after having surgery, but his family remain hopeful that they can get him back on his home turf and he can continue to be treated in a UK hospital. They have been informed that once he returns to Teesside, he will need to be taken to James Cook University Hospital for further treatment.
Chloe continued: "To help end this nightmare we need Jack back home to the UK, where we can get him the help and support he will undoubtedly need for his continued recovery."
If you want to contribute to the GoFundMe set up towards Jack's care, click here.
