"Please help me get my brother home": A family's desperate plea after 44-year-old dies suddenly days after arriving in Thailand for winter holiday

[yogi yogi]

can we know how he died before we consider donating

[Stargeezr]

Yes, the sensible thing would be to ask the hospital, what happened to all the money

that the man must have had with him. Get the hospital to cremate the guy, and store his

ashes in an urn. Then a family member could go to Thailand and get the ashes at a future date.

  The guy is dead, go fund me style issues seem suspect to me.

  

[Stargeezr]

I always get affected when I see religion as a means of not being allowed to do certain things.

  I also thought that all travelers had to have travel insurance, and wouldn't a clause also

include getting your body back to your departure point?

  The guy must have had a return ticket as well, so would the airline also help in getting

him back to his departure point?

  Oh did you know that Islam is the newest of major religions. Just something I researched

a few minutes ago.

[cdemundo]

Made a small donation, gave about the cost of Sunday breakfast, no big deal 

Not for me to judge, but I learned some things from responses on this thread for my own preparations for death and final expenses.

Edited December 12, 2021 by cdemundo

[bristolgeoff]

Story is he took out the cheaper travel insurance to cover covid only.heart attack it happened,his family is begging now for help.He should have got better insurance as most people would.Happens too many times some one has a accident insurance will not pay because of they own fault.They beg  for cash  to save they <deleted>.

         When i go to thailand i make sure i have the right insurance,because i ride a motorbike.I must be covered for that and anything else.common sense in some people does not happen.So i would not donate a penny to anyone if they can not do it themselves

[Ralf001]

4 hours ago, yogi yogi said:

can we know how he died before we consider donating

Cause of death is mentioned in the link posted by the OP.

 

Cause of death has also been mentioned numerous times in this thread.

 

Reading is your friend.

Edited December 12, 2021 by Ralf001

[jerrymahoney]

A family member of the deceased confirmed that Mr Skipper took out only Covid-related cover for two months and was thus totally uninsured when he fell ill.

 

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/news/british-holidaymakers-death-in-thailand-reveals-insurance-confusion-382630

[4MyEgo]

8 hours ago, Puccini said:

To get the Thailand Pass, ie permission to fly to Thailand, he had to show proof of a health insurance with a minimum cover of USD 50,000. The hospital should collect from the Insurance company.

I believe his insurance would be for Covid only, see a link that I posted later showing what the government required of visitors to Thailand.

[Hummin]

1 hour ago, Ralf001 said:

Cause of death is mentioned in the link posted by the OP.

 

Cause of death has also been mentioned numerous times in this thread.

 

Reading is your friend.

He might ask what caused his hearth attack! Then you can speculate if there was alcohol, medication (Viagra, Kamagra), girls, ladyboy, or men involved? 

 

So far we know only hearth attack, but not what caused it. 

 

Or he was just over the top exited being back in Pattaya. Who knows.

[ChC1]

I don't buy it. A junior chef is looking at £22-26K as a starter salary. Even if he is part time, considering £8.91 minimum wage for 2021, 60 hours week is £534.60 a week. If he is working 8 months in and take 4 months winter holiday, that is 35 weeks working and total compensation of £18,711. Plus over time pay and holiday pay double, and winter/summer time change pay double, we are talking about minimum of 700-780 hours added pay, take the medium of 740 hours, additional £6,593.40 to make his annual salary £25,304.40. If assume he worked for the same company for 3-5 years as minimum, add employee salary increase based on seniority, there is no doubt his salary to be £28,000 either as a junior chef or part timer. Should he works for a reputable company and might have worked for several more years, we are looking at £30,000-36,000. 

 

I would seriously doubt if he (or family) doesn't have any savings or assets over £5,000 if he was to take a long winter holiday in Thailand. £30K in London is bad, but in Lancashire is comfortable.

[steven100]

12 minutes ago, Hummin said:

He might ask what caused his hearth attack! Then you can speculate if there was alcohol, medication (Viagra, Kamagra), girls, ladyboy, or men involved? 

 

So far we know only hearth attack, but not what caused it. 

 

Or he was just over the top exited being back in Pattaya. Who knows.

was it when he received his bill for AQ hotel + PCR test + taxi + test&go + thai pass+ CoE + mini van .....

[Hummin]

1 minute ago, steven100 said:

was it when he received his bill for AQ hotel + PCR test + taxi + test&go + thai pass+ CoE + mini van .....

It could have been the whole process, yes. That's Why I never left Thailand during Covid, and will not leave before everything is normalized, and the only paper needed is re entry permit and vaccine certificate.

[yogi yogi]

2 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

Cause of death is mentioned in the link posted by the OP.

 

Cause of death has also been mentioned numerous times in this thread.

 

Reading is your friend.

im helping multiple familys and friends thru this rough period so im not particularly interested in this story.  sorry

[yogi yogi]

22 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

If he was free spirited why does his corpse have to be sent anywhere. Cremate him here and send his ashes home by DHL? he won't mind.

he was a free spirit but maybe his relatives are not . if they dont come up with money to send body home on plane . then what happens.  

[Ralf001]

24 minutes ago, yogi yogi said:

im helping multiple familys and friends thru this rough period so im not particularly interested in this story.  sorry

Truly bizarre.. why even qoute me ?

[jacko45k]

23 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

If he was free spirited why does his corpse have to be sent anywhere. Cremate him here and send his ashes home by DHL? he won't mind.

I suspect the hospital bill is another hurdle to that. 

[jacko45k]

On 12/12/2021 at 9:12 AM, Henryford said:

Very sad and i don't want to sound harsh but if he was here for a winter holiday didn't he have 5k with him?

I do not know what happened before he died, but hospitals can take a serious bite out of that. 

(He had a heart attack apparently)

Edited December 13, 2021 by jacko45k

[VocalNeal]

A word to the wise. A couple of my mates here have donated their bodies to "science" here. Or to the hospital as they put it. 

 

Apparently that doesn't involve the expense of a funeral.

 

Just wondering if having a emergency bracelet with this on would save all this hassle for any tourist?

[Blumpie]

9 hours ago, yogi yogi said:

can we know how he died before we consider donating

Hey can I PM you?  I have a hard luck story too.  

I'll tell you anything you want to hear.  Anything!  ????  

[Jenkins9039]

On 12/12/2021 at 9:21 AM, Orinoco said:

Wont donate.

 

Hope people feel the same way towards you in the future, preferably when your nuts get caught in a fence or something.

[Orinoco]

19 minutes ago, Jenkins9039 said:

Hope people feel the same way towards you in the future, preferably when your nuts get caught in a fence or something.

That's ok.

I prefer to give money to children's charities.

they need to be helped.

Adults can sod off.

 

[crazykopite]

Very sad news . I thought that the Thai government required visitors to have a $50,000 insurance package or am I missing something 

[starky]

8 hours ago, steven100 said:

was it when he received his bill for AQ hotel + PCR test + taxi + test&go + thai pass+ CoE + mini van .....

Cost me 200 AUD all in and you need a pass not a COE anymore you did try ever so hard to make it sound expensive though and drama filled which it certainly is not.

[Chris.B]

12 hours ago, cdemundo said:

Made a small donation, gave about the cost of Sunday breakfast, no big deal 

 

Up to you! but why then come on to a public forum and tell everyone?  ????

 

[AndyFoxy]

22 hours ago, Kadilo said:

Clearly you wouldn’t, but there are those that are happy to help out during the families time of grief without the usual interrogation, pre judgement and guesswork shown on this forum. 
 

Its not compulsory so you and others can relax and maybe leave others to share a thought of a grieving family at Xmas time. 
 

 

I ain’t paying, but if you pay more then that’s great. I pay nothing and you get to feel good about yourself. Wn win situation I reckon.

[Almer]

On 12/12/2021 at 9:12 AM, Henryford said:

Very sad and i don't want to sound harsh but if he was here for a winter holiday didn't he have 5k with him?

That sounds harsh, but true

[Olmate]

13 minutes ago, Almer said:

That sounds harsh, but true

How do you access yourfunds in ICU? 

[Kadilo]

1 hour ago, Chris.B said:

Up to you! but why then come on to a public forum and tell everyone?  ????

 

Are you only allowed to post if you have negative views or are willing to jump on the ‘scam’ ‘sounds dodgy’ bandwagon then? 
 

One could also ask why anyone would want to come onto a public forum post a “laughing” emoji against a story where a 44 year old man has died and a grieving family appeal for help, but sadly some do. 

Edited December 13, 2021 by Kadilo

[StevieAus]

On 12/12/2021 at 10:04 AM, DrJack54 said:

Think you make a good point and perhaps expats could think about.

Of course very personal thing and opinions will vary.

I have made it VERY clear to my family (in Oz) that I don't want anyone coming to Thailand if/when fall off the perch and under no circumstances my remains repatriated to Oz. 

I have also made it very clear that after my demise I don't want her spending money wining and dining the locals for three days.

We have a local crematorium not far from the house where I am quite happy to be disposed of without an audience.

[kimamey]

On 12/12/2021 at 3:03 AM, robblok said:

Yea that is a bit strange, the guy must have some savings and such. One would assume as much especially how hard he works and then travels to Thailand.

 

But skipping out on a travel insurance that covers repatriation of body and so on is just stupid.

 

But so many on this forum have a hatred of insurance. I see this most from people in the US/UK. Maybe they consider it more as a waste of money. 

Those of us from the UK who still qualify for NHS treatment just aren't used to the idea of paying for medical bills. I don't know why those from the US complain although they will probably have paid out a lot already for health care they can't receive when abroad so maybe that's the reason.

 

It does seem odd that he seemed to travel a lot but wasn't covered for this but there are many facts we don't know. Was he covered for medical bills but not repatriation? If he travelled a lot then insurance would cost more than for a couple of weeks away but I don't think it's that expensive. As others have said if he had a heart attack at 44 then there's the possibility that there were pre existing health issues that would affect insurance. It's possible that he was someone who just lived for the day and didn't worry about what might happen tomorrow which is fine until something goes wrong and your family is left with the consequences. He may have been happy with the idea of cremation in Thailand but if he didn't tell anyone that's not much help.

 

A sad case for the family but so many unanswered questions.