Picture courtesy of Workpoint.

 

A 66-year-old Greek national suffering from an undiagnosed illness has been left bedridden and without medical care after exhausting hundreds of thousands of baht on unsuccessful treatment, leaving his Thai wife heartbroken and desperate.

 

Local charity group “Saphan Boon Ban Phe,” visited a modest home in Ban Nai Rai, Phe Subdistrict, Mueang Rayong District, where they met 48-year-old Mrs. Kotchakorn the wife and sole caregiver of Mr. Alex, who has been gravely ill since late February.

 

Mrs. Kotchakorn explained that her husband began deteriorating rapidly after collapsing earlier this year. Despite spending several hundred thousand baht on medical consultations and treatment, no doctor has been able to provide a diagnosis. With their savings depleted and no access to state healthcare benefits, the couple has been forced to abandon formal treatment. Mr. Alex now remains confined to bed, his condition worsening by the day, suffering from severe muscle weakness and unable to care for himself.

 

“He can’t walk, can’t move his arms properly and the doctors still can’t tell me what’s wrong,” Mrs. Kotchakorn said tearfully. “We’ve used everything we had. Now there’s no more money and no more options. I’ve brought him home to care for him here, I can only watch him fade away.”

 

Inside the home, she showed journalists intricately carved wooden furniture which she is now trying to sell in a last-ditch effort to raise funds for basic household needs and palliative care for her husband.

 

Mr. Alex, as a foreign national, does not qualify for the universal healthcare scheme. Without private insurance or consular support, the family has been left to fend for themselves.

 

This case has sparked public sympathy, with calls for assistance from government agencies, NGOs and the Greek embassy. Many are urging authorities to step in and provide emergency support for what has become not only a medical crisis but a humanitarian one.

 

As Mrs. Kotchakorn puts it: “I don’t want pity. I just want help, someone, anyone, to help him live with dignity for as long as he has left.”

 

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Workpoint 2025-06-29

 

 

 

They will let him die and not bat an eyelid. Nobody cares at all.

This is a warning to all who retire to Thailand....have tens of millions of Baht on hand or potentially end up like this poor guy.

18 minutes ago, ukrules said:

They will let him die and not bat an eyelid. Nobody cares at all.

This is a warning to all who retire to Thailand....have tens of millions of Baht on hand or potentially end up like this poor guy.

I don't believe they will, Thais are a very caring nation regardless of nationality. 

3 hours ago, ukrules said:

They will let him die and not bat an eyelid. Nobody cares at all.

This is a warning to all who retire to Thailand....have tens of millions of Baht on hand or potentially end up like this poor guy.

Why on earth would you think like that? You must have been scorned by a woman, and now you hate everyone. Seriously! It was a very poor shot, to try to discriminate the Thai population that are generally kind, caring and giving.

After that, mention  an example of people having tens of millions of baht. A totally deluded example! Most people with that kind of money have set up insurance for things like this. Alternatively, they go home and seek the treatment they need. Have you totally lost the plot?

3 hours ago, ukrules said:

They will let him die and not bat an eyelid. Nobody cares at all.

This is a warning to all who retire to Thailand....have tens of millions of Baht on hand or potentially end up like this poor guy.

Everyone dies, no point in wasting money trying to stop it happening.

3 hours ago, ukrules said:

They will let him die and not bat an eyelid. Nobody cares at all.

This is a warning to all who retire to Thailand....have tens of millions of Baht on hand or potentially end up like this poor guy.

That's correct for most countries if you are not a citizen or have a status with access to health care.

3 hours ago, ukrules said:

They will let him die and not bat an eyelid. Nobody cares at all.

This is a warning to all who retire to Thailand....have tens of millions of Baht on hand or potentially end up like this poor guy.

Or have decent insurance

3 hours ago, ukrules said:

They will let him die and not bat an eyelid. Nobody cares at all.

What are you going to do to help him?
Or are you just going to let him die and not bat an eyelid?

3 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

After that, mention  an example of people having tens of millions of baht. A totally deluded example! Most people with that kind of money have set up insurance for things like this. Alternatively, they go home and seek the treatment they need. Have you totally lost the plot?

 

I have both excellent insurance and tens of millions of baht, no plot lost here.

31 minutes ago, ukrules said:

 

I have both excellent insurance and tens of millions of baht, no plot lost here.

Pull up the ladder Jack, I'm all right.

8 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

Mysterious Illness

autoimmune disease 

8 hours ago, ukrules said:

They will let him die and not bat an eyelid. Nobody cares at all.

This is a warning to all who retire to Thailand....have tens of millions of Baht on hand or potentially end up like this poor guy.

 

Man, anyone who decides to do the expat life and doesn't put in place provisions for old age health care  is really just asking for trouble. I pity the man, but his troubles could have easily been avoided by making sure he had an exit plan.

 

This is fair warning for all trying to "live the dream"

 Have medical insurance and continued care in your home country. If you cannot then DON'T sell it all and come. 

 

Anyone with an ounce of common sense would not soley rely on the Thai health care community for all health care needs.

 

This man should have setup a way for him too easily go back to the home country in the case of medical emergency and get care. If not able too then he should have not gotten himself stuck here.

 

This kind of thing is absurd but all too common. 

8 hours ago, ukrules said:

They will let him die and not bat an eyelid. Nobody cares at all.

This is a warning to all who retire to Thailand....have tens of millions of Baht on hand or potentially end up like this poor guy.

Or have insurance.

23 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

autoimmune disease 

No Dr can tell him what wrong but by a picture and a few paragraphs you can.

 

Impressive.

6 minutes ago, PJ71 said:

No Dr can tell him what wrong but by a picture and a few paragraphs you can.

 

Impressive.

 

There's a lot of that going on in these forums. Arm chair experts of every variety!

 

Self appointed Doctors of science all over the place.

 

So far we've had the Let him die, the diagnosis, and the I'm rich posts, what's for page 2 on AN, Bob impregnates his wife? Bob impregnates him? 

43 minutes ago, PJ71 said:

No Dr can tell him what wrong but by a picture and a few paragraphs you can.

 

Impressive.

I can diagnose your illness, I don't even have to look at you. 

 

 

16 minutes ago, Packer said:

So far we've had the Let him die, the diagnosis, and the I'm rich posts, what's for page 2 on AN, Bob impregnates his wife? Bob impregnates him? 

Just goes to show yer. If this chap had posted his medical problem on AN, he would have saved thousands, and probably been cured now.

8 hours ago, ukrules said:

They will let him die and not bat an eyelid. Nobody cares at all.

This is a warning to all who retire to Thailand....have tens of millions of Baht on hand or potentially end up like this poor guy.

Very true. Everything in this country seems to be at a discount, lives included

The hypocritic oath must contain milk the Farang to death here🤔

5 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Everyone dies, no point in wasting money trying to stop it happening.

Might as well stop producing medicines, close all hospitals and sack the doctors then.

1 hour ago, StandardIssue said:

 

Man, anyone who decides to do the expat life and doesn't put in place provisions for old age health care  is really just asking for trouble. I pity the man, but his troubles could have easily been avoided by making sure he had an exit plan.

 

This is fair warning for all trying to "live the dream"

 Have medical insurance and continued care in your home country. If you cannot then DON'T sell it all and come. 

 

Anyone with an ounce of common sense would not soley rely on the Thai health care community for all health care needs.

 

This man should have setup a way for him too easily go back to the home country in the case of medical emergency and get care. If not able too then he should have not gotten himself stuck here.

 

This kind of thing is absurd but all too common. 

All very true

 

Trouble is a large majority when they arrive in their 50's believe they are immortal, it's a common misconception prevalent across a lot of the males of the species 

 

So he is running outta funds, no insurance reliant on whatever he can get from a government hospital, which I know I will piss off some, are close to quacks posing as Doctors

 

Now would be the time, strap yourself into an airline seat and go home

8 hours ago, baansgr said:

I don't believe they will, Thais are a very caring nation regardless of nationality. 

The people, not necessarily the nation, are certainly caring and supportive of anyone in need.  But that wont get him medical care which he needs.  More than once I've asked about ailing relatives of a similar age and and am told simply "he's waiting to die". 

He's totally emaciated.

 

 

 

16 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Everyone dies, no point in wasting money trying to stop it happening.

 

Back home, most people have health coverage so they dont deplete their life savings trying to stay alive.

And here .... deplete your life savings and leave nothing to your wife and children if you have any?

Make no effort whatsoever to stay alive? 

9 hours ago, baansgr said:

I don't believe they will, Thais are a very caring nation regardless of nationality. 

The idea of "caring Thais" is a steaming pile of horse manure. Your only value is when you have multiple millions of baht to spend on substandard care.

1 minute ago, save the frogs said:

 

Back home, most people have health coverage so they dont deplete their life savings trying to stay alive.

And here .... deplete your life savings and leave nothing to your wife and children if you have any?

 

The problem is that health coverage is unreasonably expensive and may not pay off when you need it most.  Thai health coverage is a cruel joke.

11 hours ago, Felton Jarvis said:

The problem is that health coverage is unreasonably expensive and may not pay off when you need it most.  Thai health coverage is a cruel joke.

 

I know the drill. There have been numerous threads about this over the years and several horror stories like this one.

Not ideal to retire into old age in a country that excludes you from national health care. 

And are the public hospitals even up to decent standards compared to back home? 

 

21 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

Mrs. Kotchakorn explained that her husband began deteriorating rapidly after collapsing earlier this year. Despite spending several hundred thousand baht on medical consultations and treatment, no doctor has been able to provide a diagnosis.

 

There are Western doctors that can provide a diagnosis via Skype in this day and age. 

I would try to find a Western doctor who does online consultations for a 2nd opinion / diagnosis. 

They may require blood tests, whatever ... get the tests done in a local hospital and send results to the Western doctor by fax. 

 

1 hour ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

I can diagnose your illness, I don't even have to look at you. 

 

 

Again, very impressive.

 

You the man.