48 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

there is a nasty gloating tone to your post

No gloating, it is as it is

1 hour ago, simon43 said:

Not my experience at all.  With suspected prostate cancer, (following an MRI/diagnosis at Bumrungrad), I returned to the UK with the intention of making it permanent.  I registered with a GP on my arrival and saw that GP 2 days later.  I explained that I had just returned from Thailand with a suspected prostate cancer diagnosis (I had all the medical files), and I got my first hospital appointment within 3 days, thereafter speedy appointments to investigate everything. 

 

The GP and the NHS hospital knew my overseas background and never mentioned any requirement to pay, since my intention was to stay in the UK permanently.

 

The hospital tests and biopsy some weeks later surprisingly found no evidence of cancer, but did find 2 benign calcium stones in my prostate which had led to the misdiagnosis.  I was discharged as a happy man and, being that I had no cancer, I returned back to Asia.

 

Note that even though I returned back to live in Asia, this did not make me liable to pay for the NHS fees because it was my intention at the time to remain in the UK, and therefore I had no mislead the doctors etc (all this confirmed by those doctors and my GP!).

I'm pleased for you, it's nice to read such success stories. My info comes from the NHS website, not from personal experience.

9 hours ago, Alpha84 said:

73 years old and was still teaching English in Thailand to try and cover living expenses. Doesn't sound like the guy was very prepared for any eventualities at all. One has to wonder why he didn't go back and live with family in the UK 10 years ago given his financial situation. Had he been there at least there would have been some form of safety net. Now it looks like a very slippery slope. 

NOBODY is ever fully prepared for all eventualities. Nobody knows the shoes another person may be walking in. Get real, please. Some people are more capable at managing their lives than others when they get within a decade or so of this age. It's easy to speculate as you do about the details, but being 68 myself and having cared for my own parents in their 70s up to their death there is much more to it than you seem to be aware of. My parents were smart sensible people, yet even living in the US they were not fully prepared for life in their 70s and beyond. They ended up unable to manage their health and basic needs much earlier in life than most. If I weren't there for them they would have been in very bad shape. As it was there was only me and my older alcoholic brother to look after them, and had they been in Thailand it might have ended up in disaster just as in this case. I myself have nothing to go back to. No wife, no kids, nothing. I have no safety net other than medicare and social security, and a mutual fund to take care of anything catastrophic (hopefully). . Nobody knows why he did this or didn't do that. It's safe to assume that he was pursuing a happy life as best he knew how. Just as I am. Some people just have fewer options than others. Some are less adept at managing rough seas than others.  When I came here this was my last and only option for a good life. Whatever risks I may be taking at least I now have a life exponentially better than anything possible anywhere else. I currently have prostate cancer - curable - but if things go south at least I had 10 - 15 good years before it happens. I will absolutely not be telling my story here. This poor guy is very likely on his last legs based on the symptoms described - it sounds like end stage disease. I had a friend die of the same thing at age 35. It was mere months after the diagnosis, he didn't have a chance. Joey Ramone died of the same thing. 

If he's a vet, where is the military he served in with regard to this? Do they not take care of their own? Sadly, the US is guilty of mistreating and abandoning its own vets in the same way. 

9 hours ago, soalbundy said:

Actually not, if you've been out of the UK for a considerable time you can't resource the NHS or any benefits until you have shown that your repatriation is permanent which can take a long time and requires proof. The UK is basically broke and the NHS is on it's knees, He'll have to go private in the UK and they want the money up front. The UK is no longer as 'social' as it once was.

No one is going to make him pay he will go straight into the system 

 

Just now, olongapo said:

No one is going to make him pay he will go straight into the system 

 

I believe you, it's when he recovers that questions will arise but since he is old and no longer fit one can assume that he will be considered repatriated and won't have to pay, of course he has to get back first.

12 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

I believe you, it's when he recovers that questions will arise but since he is old and no longer fit one can assume that he will be considered repatriated and won't have to pay, of course he has to get back first.

 

 

There will be no questions.

 

In the UK the NHS will treat any emergency case without question. To avoid any surcharge he just has to SAY he is returning to the UK............and he can get his state pension immediately uprated to current levels.

He probably came to Thailand complaining about council tax, nanny state and NHS.

 

And now he's begging to get back home like a little bitch

10 hours ago, Thingamabob said:

They are good surgeons and post -diagnosis carers,  but diagnosis itself is not their strong point.

Lymphoma shouldn't be so difficult to diagnose. It is not a rare disease.

Just now, Celsius said:

He probably came to Thailand complaining about council tax, nanny state and NHS.

 

And now he's begging to get back home like a little bitch

Is he? I read it not quite like that. But.... war veteran card is a sad one to play in real terms.  No pension/s ? Insurance ? If legitimately working as English Teacher no Social Insurance Thai?

Choices come to haunt and I have sympathy for the fact . But my heart can,t  bleed any more for that any more   would I expect for myself .  

In Thailand people die daily from reason less than but are given  no recognition at all.

2 minutes ago, Letseng said:

Lymphoma shouldn't be so difficult to diagnose. It is not a rare disease.

My Brother in Australia has just been diagnosed with Lymphoma, he is 70 and a keen sportsman, very fit, looks more like a young 50 year old, the doctor told him that although incurable it is one of the easiest cancers to treat.

5 hours ago, CM Dad said:

love what they do

 

A foreign concept to many I think.

5 hours ago, soalbundy said:

As a young man I had a road accident in Yugoslavia

 

Was it a great country or what?

11 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

you really are a nasty piece of work

because he's probably miserable back home and misses thailand.

 

the "ghosts of thailand" are the worst. 

2 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

You are becoming one of the more odious posters on this forum.

 

 

(Let's see how many thumbs down I get for that)

None I hope!

Here is a +1

8 minutes ago, Celsius said:

 

Was it a great country or what?

It was certainly interesting, the hospital was in Zagreb, the doctors and nurses were very friendly and spoke English. The first comment the doctor made to me when I was delivered to the hospital was "My God you've made a mess of yourself". An amusing incident was when the British embassy sent two diplomats to visit me in hospital, their English was good but with an accent that wasn't British. Yugoslavia was a communist country then and I became suspicious and told the doctor of my fears. He told me that they had arrived in a Rolls Royce but to allay my fears he gave me the telephone number of the British embassy and let me ring them up, the receptionist was obviously a London girl and I told her about the accents, "Oh they are from Malta and work for the embassy".

24 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

because he's probably miserable back home and misses thailand.

 

the "ghosts of thailand" are the worst. 

 

No, it's not that, but how original the observation.

32 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

because he's probably miserable back home and misses thailand.

 

the "ghosts of thailand" are the worst. 

Im back home and dont miss it. Its not about ghosts, its the mosquitos and the humidity

6 hours ago, nauseus said:

 

Maybe that's what will happen? How old are you?

 

74, why hang on for a few more years of the same?

11 hours ago, shackleton said:

Yes really a strange case retired veteran working at 73 years old in Thailand 

If no Thai family ties 

Should be back in the UK

plus as mentioned what difference mentioning he is a ex Royal Navy  Fleet veteran going to make 

I can image quite a few retired Brits here are ex Military 🪖 🤔 

 

Yes. Very strange.

 

Also, what do you mean NO Family Ties?

 

Surely this is either his GF or Wife...would you not say?

 

Also, she looks pretty hot, and slim and trim.

 

No doubt, about 40-yo, or less.

 

Maybe SHE was the reason he refused to return to the UK for medical treatment.

 

I BET THIS is CORRECT...!!!!

 

 

 

 

10 hours ago, Taboo2 said:

So many folks here are on retirement incomes and should not be expected to fork over money for irresponsible people.  

 

Christ on a bike... Where does it say that contributing to a GoFundMe is mandatory?

 

Jog on

9 hours ago, pogal said:

Doesn't Thailand make it compulsory to have insurance anymore? They used to. Very logical law to have for everyone

 

 

No, Thailand never "used to" make insurance compulsory. Maybe you're confused with certain O-A visa and the nonsensical Covid requirements?

Some inflammatory posts and replies have been removed:

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7 hours ago, proton said:

If it were me I would tell them to pull the plug and not put people to the inconvenience of money raising and flying back to die in the cold , 73 is old enough.

 

Do you have a living will so if you end up stuck in a coma and unable to communicate in hospital, they can, "...pull the plug and not put people to the inconvenience of money raising and flying back to die in the cold. ..."?

 

I'm 70, so I should plan on voluntarily cashing out some time around 2028?

 

all due respect, but he should have returned to the uk when the initial symptoms appeared, by ignoring them he has contributed to the the serious condition he now finds himself in, plus his family expect strangers to bail him out. folks really need to take a more responsible attitude to their health and lives. 

 

top tip, if t you're a uk citizen, for goodness sake maintain an address and presence in the uk, maintaining NI contributions is the best investment you can make, it's guaranteed to pay out! and the NHS is free!. benefits citizens from other countries can only dream about, lose them at your peril. 

7 hours ago, soalbundy said:

At a certain age it's better to throw in the towel, all this struggling to squeeze out an extra year or so is so undignified, hospice is a better option in my 77 year old opinion .

 

As a favour, can you advise other members in their bumbling dotage exactly how you plan to "throw in the towel" here?

Just now, NanLaew said:

 

As a favour, can you advise other members in their bumbling dotage exactly how you plan to "throw in the towel" here?

 

Take a wet towel and throw it

7 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

7 hours ago, nauseus said:

 

Well said. But there are a lot more bitter old men in Thailand than there used to be.

 

 

That must be because they are living longer....

 

Or spending too much time on this forum, rubbing keyboards with some of the world's best misanthropes.

12 hours ago, wavodavo said:

Dear oh dear ..another expat seriously ill with no money who wants to go home , family can't afford the evacuation or ongoing medical  costs and so another Go Fund Me appeal . How many more are we gonna have?? Maybe for eveyones sake when an expat reaches a   certain age where health can be an issue and goes to get his visa extended he will have to post a bond that is enough to cover future  costs or proof of medical insurance that includes evacuation to home country.If they can't meet this requirement then no visa extension  and they  go back home.This may sound cruel but the reality is at least they can get cheap or free health care in their own country .

Exactly how much does it cost you personally, when someone sets up a “Go Fund Me” page?

you write as if every penny is coming out of your hot and stickies 

6 hours ago, simon43 said:

....

Note that even though I returned back to live in Asia, this did not make me liable to pay for the NHS fees because it was my intention at the time to remain in the UK, and therefore I had no mislead the doctors etc (all this confirmed by those doctors and my GP!).

 

Of course there's no liability but the right and honest thing would have been to pay.