Mum’s plea after ‘big-hearted’ son, 29, who rescues Thai dogs, struck with brain tumour and needs £15,000 to fly home

[snoop1130]

Mum’s plea after ‘big-hearted’ son, 29, who rescues Thai dogs, struck with brain tumour and needs £15,000 to fly home

By Claudia Tanner

 

George Gannons’s girlfriend was distraught to find him unable to walk to talk (Photo: George Gannon)

 

A mother has made a desperate appeal for help after her son who lives in Thailand was diagnosed with a large brain tumour after he woke up unable to walk or talk.

 

George Gannon, 29, suffered the terrifying symptoms suddenly – and doctors think the skin cancer he was treated for two years ago has spread.

 

Sarah Evison is anxiously waiting for news about whether surgeons will be able to operate to save her son.

 

George has no medical insurance and the bills are running at around £600 per day – and surgery and an air ambulance could cost £15,000.

 

Full Story: https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/people/mums-plea-after-big-hearted-son-29-who-rescues-thai-dogs-struck-with-brain-tumour-and-needs-15000-to-fly-home/

[anterian]

If I was in that position I would simply die, but then I am 82 and have had a good run for my money. I have no insurance simply because premiums at my age are a rip off , but at his age they should have been affordable. 

[Stocky]

24 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

...and doctors think the skin cancer he was treated for two years ago has spread.

 If he had insurance there's a strong chance they'd try to get out of paying anything by claiming it was a pre-existing condition.

[wotsdermatter]

I am not heartless but my question is simple.  If he had received treatment for cancer in the U.K., why come to live in a country where any form of medical insurance would not cover the cost of any possible future treatment?  Saving soi dogs is not a real excuse to ask for help pay for his treatment because there's far too many anyway (but that is another story).  It is surprising the number of people who come to Thailand then have to be "rescued" because of their lack of foresight and are not being able to perform tasks such as ride motorcycles then end up in hospital because of that lack of knowledge.

 

'nuf sed

[blackhorse]

The headline is a mum thing and you can't blame her for making him look good ahead of the inevitable go fund me.
I feel sorry for him, he wasn't in a jet ski accident or no Helmut scooter.
But those symptoms do you really just wake up one day without any warning and you can't walk?

Doesn't sound right.

[BestB]

Not UK citizen but 15000 does not sound all that much that one can not borrow from a bank on a personal loan or through family and friends .

 

i realize loans need to be repaid but can not just expect people to pick up medical tabs.

 

i was young once and did not have insurance but I did have travel insurance which I took out every year upon returning home 

[Just Weird]

2 hours ago, Stocky said:

 If he had insurance there's a strong chance they'd try to get out of paying anything by claiming it was a pre-existing condition.

Which an insurer would be well within it's rights to do as pre-existing conditions are excluded when the policy is taken out.  "Trying to get out of paying" is not the appropriate description. 

 

If an insurer had to use that clause in a policy it would only be because the insured was trying to claim for something that he was not covered for, in other words he was trying to get something that he was not entitled to and he had not paid the premium for.

[PremiumLane]

Personally, I think it is criminal that healthcare is unobtainable for so many on this planet and so expensive. There is something fundamentally wrong when people die over profits for medical insurance companties

[smedly]

so he needs a wheelchair, are people in wheelchairs barred from flights - I don't think so, what is stopping his mother or someone else making the trip and escorting him on the flight home normal fares all round, there are many disabled people fly on planes. Unless he needs assisted breathing or some other medical attention. 

 

Is this another case of a Thai hospital milking it, I honestly don't trust them, if he's clocking up a bill of 600 a day surely it's in the interests of the Thai hospital to ship him home before the bill gets any bigger ………………. right ?

 

Yes ok so he is ill - but is he really so ill he can't be assisted on and off a plane

[colinneil]

12 hours ago, blackhorse said:

But those symptoms do you really just wake up one day without any warning and you can't walk?

Doesn't sound right.

 

I cannot comment on this mans case, but yes a person can wake up 1 day and is unable to walk.

My first wife woke 1 morning unable to move/ walk, night before she was 100% ok.

She was airlifted to hospital by coastguard helicopter, and was diagnosed with Gullian Barrie syndrome.

[Jingjock]

4 hours ago, colinneil said:

She was airlifted to hospital by coastguard helicopter, and was diagnosed with Gullian Barrie syndrome.

My mate had that here, no money for tablets to cure it, I found out to late, he now passed away, but its a bacterial germ that can be cured

[colinneil]

4 minutes ago, Jingjock said:

My mate had that here, no money for tablets to cure it, I found out to late, he now passed away, but its a bacterial germ that can be cured

It is a life destroying thing, it is a viral infection of the central nervous system, most people contracting it do not survive, some who survive are disabled for life, very few people who contract it return to normal.

[Stocky]

15 hours ago, Just Weird said:

Which an insurer would be well within it's rights to do as pre-existing conditions are excluded when the policy is taken out.  "Trying to get out of paying" is not the appropriate description. 

 

If an insurer had to use that clause in a policy it would only be because the insured was trying to claim for something that he was not covered for, in other words he was trying to get something that he was not entitled to and he had not paid the premium for.

Not exactly, the quote from the article said "and doctors think", so clearly there is a level of uncertainty as to whether his brain tumour has a link to his previous skin cancer.

[atyclb]

45 minutes ago, colinneil said:

52 minutes ago, Jingjock said:

My mate had that here, no money for tablets to cure it, I found out to late, he now passed away, but its a bacterial germ that can be cured

It is a life destroying thing, it is a viral infection of the central nervous system, most people contracting it do not survive, some who survive are disabled for life, very few people who contract it return to normal.

 

 

so poster B corrects poster A's claim it is a bacteria by falsely stating it is a virus

does anyone even take 1 minute to lookup these things before proclaiming causes of diseases / syndromes ???

 

snippet

 

Guillain-Barré syndrome is a rare but serious autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks healthy nerve cells in your peripheral nervous system. This leads to weakness, numbness, and tingling. It can eventually cause paralysis. The cause of this condition is unknown, but it’s typically triggered by an infectious illness, such as the stomach flu or a lung infection.

Guillain-Barré is rare, affecting only about 1 in 100,000 Americans, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. There’s no cure for the syndrome, but treatment can reduce the severity of your symptoms and shorten the duration of the illness.

There are multiple types of Guillain-Barré, but the most common form is acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (AIDP). It results in damage to myelin. Other types include Miller Fisher syndrome, which affects the cranial nerves.

 

https://www.healthline.com/health/guillain-barre-syndrome

 

 

[smokie36]

This is the expat risk of selfishness knowing that if the worst does happen its your family who have to pick up the pieces.

 

A sad and ugly often repeated tale.

[atyclb]

if it is melanoma spread to the brain his prognosis is very poor. the high tech treatments may extend survival several months.

[Just Weird]

1 hour ago, Stocky said:

Not exactly, the quote from the article said "and doctors think", so clearly there is a level of uncertainty as to whether his brain tumour has a link to his previous skin cancer.

What I said in my post about policy conditions that you are replying to was 100% accurate, exactly.

[tweedledee2]

1 hour ago, colinneil said:

It is a life destroying thing, it is a viral infection of the central nervous system, most people contracting it do not survive, some who survive are disabled for life, very few people who contract it return to normal.

 A classmate of mine contracted it when she was in her 30's. She was hospitalized for several months and had some difficulty talking due to facial muscle paralysis which improved over time with therapy. She was able to resume a normal life, return to work and have another child. She is now 68, a grandmother and retired. 

[Tony125]

2 hours ago, colinneil said:

It is a life destroying thing, it is a viral infection of the central nervous system, most people contracting it do not survive, some who survive are disabled for life, very few people who contract it return to normal.

Your information is incorrect Colin. Most people recover from it but in severe cases it will kill 3--5 % of its victims. The ability to speak and swallow may become affected in severe cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome. ... Even in the best of settings, 3%–5% of Guillain-Barré syndrome patients die from complications, which can include paralysis of the muscles that control breathing, blood infection, lung clots, or cardiac arrest.Oct 31, 2016

The recovery period for Guillain-Barré can be long, but most people recover fully.

 

https://www.healthline.com/health/guillain-barre-syndrome#complications

[colinneil]

10 minutes ago, Tony125 said:

Your information is incorrect Colin. Most people recover from it but in severe cases it will kill 3--5 % of its victims. The ability to speak and swallow may become affected in severe cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome. ... Even in the best of settings, 3%–5% of Guillain-Barré syndrome patients die from complications, which can include paralysis of the muscles that control breathing, blood infection, lung clots, or cardiac arrest.Oct 31, 2016

The recovery period for Guillain-Barré can be long, but most people recover fully.

 

https://www.healthline.com/health/guillain-barre-syndrome#complications

Tell that to my first wife

[Stocky]

1 hour ago, Just Weird said:

What I said in my post about policy conditions that you are replying to was 100% accurate, exactly.

As maybe, but my original post was in the context of this particular story, where there is a degree of doubt as to the link between earlier skin cancer and the the present brain tumour. I'm sure the lawyers would enjoy it. Though the point is moot as the lad had no medical insurance anyway. 

[Tony125]

1 minute ago, colinneil said:

Tell that to my first wife

Sorry about your First Wife but the facts are less than 5%  of those that contract it die. Maybe before they had  new ways to treat (there is no cure) and she had a severe form of  Guillain-barre-syndrome. Some sites say 1% die from it others 3---5%   Sucks if you're in that small percentage but the bottom line is most recover. Sorry for your loss.

[BestB]

1 hour ago, PerkinsCuthbert said:

 

Something lost in translation here - you say you took out travel insurance when you got home? Can you explain the logic to that, or are you from Poland?

Every 6 months or about 11 months I returned for home visits. With each return I took out new travel policy for a year and kept doing it for about 5-6 years

[MaksimMislavsky]

25 minutes ago, baansgr said:

Just about every picture on his FB he has a cigarette in his hand....insurance for him is cheap yet he can squander probably 3000 Baht a month on smoking. yet another online begging blog

Moreover, smoking is known to cause conditions like brain tumour

[quadperfect]

4 hours ago, Stocky said:

Not exactly, the quote from the article said "and doctors think", so clearly there is a level of uncertainty as to whether his brain tumour has a link to his previous skin cancer.

Melenoma goes right to the brain. So sounds like his skin cancer was not properly dealt with and it spread. Logical .

 

[oldrunner]

Life can be a real B**ch but much of our trip is pre-ordained in another life. Live or die with it. As for Insurance in Thailand, if you can't afford the lhealyh insurance you need, don't come to Thailand, or any other country. Stay in your home country and be cared for there. As for writer who believes everyone should have government free insurance, go ahead, get a job, give the government 90% of your salary, the government will then give you 100% health care (of course you must stay in that country to assure you get the care).

[Classic Ray]

2 hours ago, BestB said:

Every 6 months or about 11 months I returned for home visits. With each return I took out new travel policy for a year and kept doing it for about 5-6 years

Most policies I know of are limited to 3 months travel per trip outside of the home country. OK if you travel home 4 times a year, but useless otherwise.

[BestB]

4 minutes ago, Classic Ray said:

Most policies I know of are limited to 3 months travel per trip outside of the home country. OK if you travel home 4 times a year, but useless otherwise.

Well sorry to tell you but what you know is incorrect 

[Pepper9187]

2 minutes ago, BestB said:

6 minutes ago, Classic Ray said:

Most policies I know of are limited to 3 months travel per trip outside of the home country. OK if you travel home 4 times a year, but useless otherwise.

Well sorry to tell you but what you know is incorrect 

 

I think he was probably talking about the standard europe assistance insurance that you can purchase for cheap, it's limited to 3 months - 3 days or something like this , but yes, you also have real travel insurances which can cover you much longer.

 

 

[sanemax]

13 minutes ago, Pepper9187 said:

 

I think he was probably talking about the standard europe assistance insurance that you can purchase for cheap, it's limited to 3 months - 3 days or something like this , but yes, you also have real travel insurances which can cover you much longer.

 

 

   That is travel insurance though , that doesnt cover living in another country