A British tourist who vanished on a night out in Thailand has been found on life support in a hospital after emergency brain surgery.
Ashton Jones, 29, went on a last-minute trip to Bangkok but was separated from his friends on a night out.
Five days after Ashton arrived in Thailand to meet up with a lifelong friend, his family were told he was missing after a night out on the town.
His friends spent hours searching for Ashton after he went missing from the nightclub, before finding him in the hospital. Medics believe he was attacked.
Ashton, who has epilepsy, is now fighting for his life after emergency brain surgery, 6,000 miles away from home.
His family are struggling to get him back home in Wales, as the 29-year-old didn’t take out travel insurance for his last-minute trip.
His worried grandmother, Beverley Walker, of Cwmbran, Gwent, is desperately trying to raise money to pay for his medical care.
Beverley said: ‘I am deeply concerned that without immediate financial or diplomatic assistance, my grandson may not survive.
‘The emotional toll on our family is immense. We are heartbroken and fearful, watching from afar while Ashton suffers without the care he urgently requires.’
A week after Ashton went into the hospital on June 3, medical workers at Chonburi hospital attempted to wake him up, which worked, but he has a long way to go.
Beverley added: ‘He’s bed-bound and suffering with fits, cannot talk, eat or drink and isn’t aware.
‘We all, as a family, are worried sick with fear for Ashton and how we can bring him home.’
But Ashton’s treatment and funding to bring him to the UK will cost the family thousands.
The family have set up a GoFundMe page in a bid to raise £50,000 to help cover medical expenses and to bring him home.
So far, over £3,000 has been raised by 113 donors since the fundraiser was launched a day ago.
Beverley said: ‘The hospital in Thailand is asking for the cost of his ongoing treatment, which is far beyond what our family can afford.
‘In the meantime, Ashton’s condition continues to deteriorate, and it feels as though we are being left helpless as time runs out.
‘We have already put together life savings for medical bills, flights, travel, and accommodation to be with him, but would never be able to afford to get him home to better health care and his family.’
A Foreign Office spokesman said: ‘We are supporting a British man who has been hospitalised in Thailand and are in contact with the local authorities.’
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