Cefn Fforest man seriously ill in Thailand hospital (From South Wales Argus)

Cefn Fforest man seriously ill in Thailand hospital

9:10am Saturday 20th October 2012 in News

A GWENT man is seriously ill in hospital in Thailand after collapsing while on holiday.

Robert Taylor's family fear the bill for his care and return home could run into many thousands of pounds as he has no insurance.

Mr Taylor, 52, of Penybryn Terrace, Cefn Fforest, collapsed in his hotel room in Bangkok on October 7, the day before he was due to return to Wales after a break of more than two weeks.

A friend and travelling companion had to pay more than £2,200 simply to get him into a hospital in the city, where he was diagnosed with septicaemia, which appears to have developed due to infection from a leg problem originally caused by diabetes.

His companion subsequently had to return home, and Mr Taylor's sister Anita Williamson, also of Cefn Fforest, has been phoning Thailand for regular updates on his progress.

"We're sick with worry, not sleeping well, and it's badly affecting our dad Raymond, who is 83," said Mrs Williamson.

Mr Taylor is understood not to have been insured, and Mrs Williamson said she was told after his first four days in hospital that his treatment had so far cost almost £8,000.

"I asked for him to be transferred to a less expensive hospital, and that's been done. But we don't know how long he'll be out there.

"He was in a coma, but I understand he's now conscious. We're sick with worry because he's in a strange place on his own and the bills are mounting.

"We just want him home, but I don't know how we're going to pay for it."

Mr Taylor, known in Cefn Fforest as Big Bob, weighs around 28 stones, and has had diabetes for several years, becoming insulin dependent two years ago.

"He has problems with his right leg due to diabetes and I've been told it spread to his left leg and got into the bone, and he has septicaemia," said Mrs Williamson.

"We've also been told he's got pneumonia. I spoke to him on October 2 and he sounded rough and said he was struggling to breathe. Three days later he was no better, but he put that down to the heat.

"It's difficult because of the language barrier. I'm phoning the hospital but only getting basic information."

A British Consular official in Bangkok has visited Mr Taylor and updated the family on his condition on Wednesday.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are aware of Mr Taylor's hospitalisation. The consular staff are providing support to his family at this difficult time."