The family of a North East scuba instructor are desperate to raise thousands of pounds to help bring him home after he suffered a shocking accident in the US.
Gareth Crouth, 42, had a stroke which led to him falling into a swimming pool and almost drowning while visiting a friend in Kentucky last week. He is seriously ill in hospital in Cincinnati and because his health insurance had expired, his family face a huge bill to get him home.
Gareth, who moved to Northumberland with his family at the age of 18 from South Africa, suffered a fractured spine, and he is having problems breathing independently, but a second stroke while in hospital caused further complications. Though it's too early to say when he might be able to be brought home, his family are hoping to fundraise to get him back to the UK.
His Cramlington-based sister Lauren-Lee told ChronicleLive: "He was working as a scuba diving instructor. He's lived a nomadic life really, but Northumberland is the only place he ever really lived long enough to call home. Last week he was visiting friends in Kentucky, they were just hanging out. But then he had a stroke and fell into the pool.
"He was drowning, but his best friend was able to pull him out and resuscitate him. They realised he had damaged his spine and then there was also fluid build up on his lungs. On Saturday he had another stroke which has affected him. Our focus now is to get him back to breathing on his own so we can bring him home.
"As soon as he can breath by himself we would like to get the repatriation flight, but we will need to fund this ourselves. Because of the medical complications we're not really sure how much will be needed."
At the moment, Gareth has trouble with mobility and will need intensive physiotherapy. Throughout his life he's lived an incredibly active lifestyle - at one stage even being an MMA fighter - while he has taught scuba diving in exotic locales including the British Virgin Islands and off the Greek coast.
Before that, he managed bars and restaurants in the North East - and he attended both Newcastle and Northumbria Universities. His mum Heather is now at his bedside in the US - and reports how, though his communication is limited at this stage he is fighting hard.
Family, also including dad Tony and brother Anthony are working with the family GPs to prepare for bringing him home - though they don't yet know the scale of the medical support he will require when he is able to be repatriated.
Lauren-Lee added: "We are trying to raise funds for his transfer from those who are able to contribute. Every little bit will help in getting my big brother and hero back home with us."
At this stage, the costs of bringing Gareth home will depend on how much medical care he will require during the flight. The family has so far raised around £5,000 - but they estimate they could need around £80,000 to bring their son and brother home.
To contribute to the crowdfunding, visit gofundme.com/f/get-garreth-home.
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