A British dad has been left trapped in Thailand with a flesh-eating disease after a 'scorpion' bit his leg. Alan Stephenson, 73, has seen the horrific disease strip the skin between his foot and knee leading to him potentially needing his leg amputated.
The 73-year-old from Hull had travelled to Thailand to spend a few months exploring the country. But his dream trip turned into a holiday from hell after being bitten by what he believed to be a scorpion, reports Hull Live.
Alan contacted his son, Kristian, earlier this month to inform him that he was in hospital with his health deteriorating. The 44-year-old rushed out to see his father and endured an difficult trip to a remote hospital where his father was being treated.
Kristian says the torrid conditions at the medical facility had him fearing for his father's life. He said: "It was like something from Banged Up Abroad."
"The hospital was terrible and didn't have the resources to do anything with his leg. I thought: he is going to die here."
"His leg looked horrendous, but because he wasn't being turned over or helped out of bed, he had bed sores that were just as bad."
The 44-year-old made the decision to move his father to another hospital in order to receive better treatment. Doctors at the new facility have said that they will be able to remove the infected leg.
However, Kristian claims that they have already postponed several planned operations already, meaning they continue to rack up hospital fees. Meanwhile, they have been giving a potential lifeline, with a UK doctor stating that they may be able to save the leg if the family can get Alan home.
The son has asked for help from the British Embassy to bring his dad back to the UK but says he has had little success. In order to get some help he turned to his local MP Karl Turner.
Kristian said: "The British Embassy has shown no interest in the case and we are often waiting on responses due to the time difference. We have been told that the Government would not contribute to any costs towards flying my dad home to be saved.
"Karl Turner has been in touch with me almost every day with advice and assured me that he is speaking to people above him, but I know there's only so much he can do. I was advised to get in touch with a medical repatriation team, who could fly my dad home because a normal airline would not be able to do it.
"As luck would have it, we have found a company that I immediately connected with because the guy who runs it is also from East Yorkshire. My dad has received a fit to fly certificate and he is starting to look better in himself, but now we face raising £18,000 to pay for the service, which is the lowest rate possible."
The medical repatriation company suggested that the family started a Just Giving page, which they did and have raised £5,711 at the time of writing . Kristian said: "The plan now is to get my dad back to Hull full time and save his life.
"We know he will most likely be disabled for the rest of his life, but we are hoping he can somewhat recover."
To contribute towards Alan's medical repatriation, you can find his Just Giving page here.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
