Ill Belfast man stranded in Bangkok

Published Thursday, 19 April 2012
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A gravely ill west Belfast man has been left stranded in Thailand after suffering a brain haemorrhage while visiting his son last month.

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The family of Francis McDonald have spoken of their race against time to bring the 56-year-old home for urgent medical treatment.

Francis travelled to Bangkok without travel insurance to visit his son Frankie in March.

He suffered a blood clot in his brain days after arriving in Thailand.

Francis was treated in intensive care but was discharged from hospital after three weeks when he couldn't pay his medical bills.

Francis, who is still seriously ill, is now being care by his son Frankie and his girlfriend in their Bangkok flat.

Francis' other son Kevin, who lives in west Belfast, told UTV: "Frankie and his two mates took him out of the hospital and took him into Frankie's flat where Frankie and his girlfriend Lek are caring for him and Frankie is under crazy pressure."

"We chipped in to send Daddy over there to see Frankie and it has just turned into a horror show."

Francis' family initially handed over £4,500 for his hospital bills but they were then asked for another £8,000 which they simply don't have.

The Belfast man now needs a transfusion of blood platelets to enable him to fly home.

"We need to get my Daddy home no matter what because he is just getting worse and worse and that's the bottom line."

Sinn Féin West Belfast MP Paul Maskey says he has been in touch with the Irish Consulate in Bangkok.

"We do hope that the man is deemed safe to travel home because this is where he is going to get the right treatment," he said.

The McDonald family are now trying to raise emergency funds to bring their father home.

© UTV News
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4 Comments
Jackie in belfast wrote (397 days ago):
create a just giving page i'd happily donate some money and so would any other decent person! i dont know this man but surely someone in this country should step in and pay to treat this man and get him home.
heather in belfast wrote (397 days ago):
oh come on stormont !!! get this man home !!! use the emergency fund you have to bring him home !!!
Cole Phelps in France (Ex-Pat) wrote (397 days ago):
It's not what Consulates are for. He cheated himself out on £15 of travel insurance at the post office. Let this be a cruel lesson to anyone planning international travel.
kd in Australia wrote (398 days ago):
Come on this is what consulates and embassies are for. Okay, so he should have had travel insurance, and you don't want the Govt bailing out everyone who doesn't and gets into trouble. But this isn't someone who got his stuff nicked or just broke an arm. This is life threatening. Stop goofing around, pay the bills and get him home.
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