Craig Lindley is 35 years old and is from Hoylemill, Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Craig has spent most of his adult life contributing to helping local youth clubs and coaching amateur boxing. Craig is a very caring person, always putting oth...er people first before himself.
During a holiday to Thailand to celebrate a friends wedding, Craig became very unwell.
He woke up New Years Day 2015 and collapsed, loosing all movement in his legs and one arm. The doctor was called to his hotel room and was unable to diagnose what was wrong but stressed it was very serious. He immediately ordered Craig to be transferred from the small island he was staying on, via speedboat to Koh Samui Hospital.
Upon arrival at hospital, Craig was taken into intensive care and put on an IV drip as he could not keep any fluids down and was becoming dehydrated.
At this point, Craig’s friends, who were also holidaying in Thailand, checked Craig’s travel documents and found no valid travel insurance. They immediately started to rally round to raise funds for his impending medical costs. At this point the hospital informed Craig’s friends that currently the bill was £3,000 and due immediately. Craig’s friends paid the bill and then set up a donation page seeking help from family and friends back in the UK.
Doctors wanted to carry out an MRI scan to see if this would identify what was wrong, however the MRI scanner at Koh Samui hospital was not working. They then transferred Craig to Surtthani hospital, via boat. Doctors ran a number of tests including an MRI svan and sent blood samples to a lab to be tested. Initial diagnosis was a stroke or multiple sclerosis (MS). He stayed in Surathani overnight and returned back to Koh Samui the next day.
The MRI scan came back inconclusive, showing no neurological damage, this then ruled out a diagnosis of stroke or MS. By now Craig was being fed via a tube in his throat and his chest was becoming increasingly tight. Doctors put Craig on a ventilator to help with his breathing and to try to keep his overall health in a stable condition.
The blood tests came back and revealed that Craig had a condition called Guillain-Barre Syndrome. GBS is a very rare and serious condition of the nervous system. The exact cause of GBS is unknown, however it is thought that an earlier infection may trigger the immune system to attack the nerves.
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Guillai...roduction.aspx
The next bill for medical treatment is to be paid Monday 5 January, this is for £7,500.
Craig currently has no movement in his legs and one arm. His other arm is incredibly weak. He is communicating only via pen/paper due to the feeding tube, but due to the weakness in his arm this is very limited.
Craig is due to be moved from Koh Samui hospital to Bangkok on Monday 5 January, where more specialist treatment is available. As he is still in intensive care, the transfer is an air ambulance with the necessary medical equipment onboard. The cost of this flight is £7,000.
On arrival at Bangkok hospital, Craig will undergo more specialised tests and treatment for GBS will begin. The initial cycle of treatment (duration of approx. one week) is £16,000, plus £2,000 PER DAY for intensive care bed hospital fees. This money is due to be paid when Craig arrives in Bangkok tomorrow morning.
By the morning (Monday 5 January) Craig’s friends and family will have paid a total of £17,500 and are now appealing to the general public to raise funds to help with the cost of Craig’s treatment.
Doctors hope that after the first cycle of treatment, Craig may be well enough to fly back to the UK, however due to the severity of Craig’s GBS symptoms we cannot yet say if this will be the case. If it is not then Craig will remain in Bangkok hospital for an undetermined amount of time, with medical bills spiraling into tens of thousands of pounds very quickly.
People have already been incredibly generous in donating funds, however we still need to raise enough to get Craig well enough to fly home.
If you can spare any donation, no matter how small, please follow the link below.
https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/cvDA5/ab/94Mk63