Comapatient from Thailand back home

After a long eleven months, a German coma patient from Thailand was flown out to his native Bavaria. Donations from the city of Bamberg have succeeded in triggering the patient from the Thai clinic.

(20.09.2010) Eleven months had to spend a coma patient in a clinic in Thailand. So far, there was no hope to convict the 39-year-old to Germany. Because only the special flight, which is accompanied by doctors, causes high costs of around 25,000 euros. The hospital in Thailand also demanded over 50,000 euros for medical care and treatment. A large-scale donation campaign by relatives and the city of Bamberg made it possible to bring the patient back to Germany.

After an unresolved accident at the airport in the Thai town of Hat Yai, the man fell into a coma following a fall due to a traumatic brain injury. Since then, the coma patient has been treated in a local hospital. The cost of the treatment increased every day and relatives saw no way to get the man home. The costs, including flight and treatment, have already reached around 85,000 euros. Through media reports, a broad public could be produced. Many donated and the city of Bamberg supported the fundraiser.

Meanwhile, the flight with the coma patient has landed in Nuremberg. This confirmed Volker Lemke from the International Air Ambulance. The patient had now been taken to a special care facility in the vicinity of Nuremberg. There the man continues to be looked after and cared for. Compared to the "dpa" Lemke said: "He is not a hopeless case", because the prospects that the man gets back to full consciousness, are great. Already in Thailand a positive development of the patient could be observed.

According to numerous media reports, the man traveled to Thailand in 2008. In October 2009, the person wanted to fly from Hat Yai to Bangkok. However, he arrived at the airport one day early. The staff had denied him access to the departure lounge. From a staircase the man should then have tried to jump into the departure hall. According to the media, he suffered a serious head injury during the jump. The clinic in Thailand was initially unable to locate relatives and relatives in Germany. Only after a few months was it possible to find a grandmother and other relatives of the man. But the relatives could not pay the costs. In addition, the patient had no foreign health insurance. The city of Bamberg started after the numerous reports in the media, a fundraiser for the 39-year-olds.

According to the German air ambulance, a guided special flight with medical care costs around 70,000 euros. But the air ambulance agreed to offer a cheaper price due to the situation. It was only possible because the plane had to take a patient out to Australia in the middle of last week. On the flight back, the machine made a stopover and picked up the patient. It was then calculated only the cost of the stopover. By donations and the pledges of authorities, the money was then sufficient.

Until the end, it was not clear whether the return journey could actually take place. Because the hospital in Thailand was at his expense. A companion of the coma patient reported to the "dpa": "The return trip was a thriller", because the clinic in Thailand had initially refused to dismiss the patient. "There was a misunderstanding, there was no money for treatment at the clinic." such a supervisor to the news agency. By a lightning transfer of a company, it was still possible to take the 39-year-olds.

A coma is an expression of a serious disorder or damage to the brain. A coma is life threatening to the patient if adequate treatment is not used. The further health prognosis depends crucially on a further treatment of the comatose patient. For this reason too, it was extremely important to spend the affected person in Germany. (Sb)

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Comapatient in Thailand is flown back

Picture credits: Arno Bachert