Aussie mum facing $120,000 bill to bring critically ill son home from Thailand
James Lothian's mother has issued a teary plea to Australian authorities to bring her son home.
The family of an Aussie dad being treated for life-threatening injures in a Thai hospital are desperate to bring him home on a medevac flight. James Lothian has suffered a series of medical complications since he was injured in a road accident months ago.
Unable to sleep in the early hours of Saturday morning, James Lothian’s mother messaged Yahoo News from her Victorian property. Theresa Matthews explained her son had been in “serious pain” since undergoing surgery for sepsis on Tuesday night.
“It’s been going on since March. I just want to get my son home. That’s all. Alive,” she said through tears.
Aussie spirit helps James secure rare blood for surgery
Last week, James’s plight captivated the attention of Aussies at home and abroad, after his family made a call out for blood donations to help treat his injuries. In Thailand, the O negative blood type is extremely rare as just 0.3 per cent of the population have Rh negative blood (A-, B-, O- or AB-).
Following the call across traditional media and Facebook, several expats went to extraordinary lengths to give blood.
“We had one lady get in a taxi and travel two hours to donate,” James’s sister Stacy Lothian told Yahoo. “It’s been a pretty hard situation, but I was quite proud that Aussies were rocking up to help another Aussie.
“We were really lucky. We got six pints from Australian tourists and people living there which was more than we needed. So then donated that blood to a young baby and two other men at a hospital in Phuket.”
Lapsed travel insurance lands James in financial strife
Like his sister, James had lived in Western Australia. But two years ago he packed up and moved to Thailand, got married, and he now has a two-year-old son.
Unfortunately he let his travel insurance lapse, leaving him with tens of thousands of dollars in hospital bills. James has lost 40kg since the accident and there are concerns he’s not getting enough pain medication. So he can properly heal, his family are desperate to bring him home.
“Last night, I could only speak to him only for a little while because he's just in so much pain. They're not like over here with the pain meds,” Theresa said.
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Family desperate to bring James home to Australia
James’s family say they’ve contacted the Australian embassy for help, but claim they were told they’d have to raise the cash to bring him home themselves — and that looks like being over $120,000.
Theresa isn’t rich. She’s a pensioner, who cares for her elderly parents at home. And as if that wasn’t enough, she’s also a registered wildlife rescuer with dozens of native animals living at her home.
The family have set up a GoFundMe to try and raise funds to bring James home.
“Every time he seems to be getting better he goes downhill again. But he doesn’t tell me much because I’ll worry,” she said. “I just feel useless at home not being able to help him.”
Consular staff unable to provide financial assistance to James' family
Yahoo News reached out to the Department of Foreign Affairs about James's case. It indicated consular staff can help liaise with foreign authorities or hospital staff, but they will not pay for medical costs or query treatment plans of Australians overseas.
"The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to an Australian in Thailand. Owing to our privacy obligations we cannot provide further comment," it said in a written statement.
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