13 hours ago, DUNROAMIN said:

As soon as you find out you have serious problems, fly back to your home country, if possible. From my personal experience I do not have much faith in diagnostic skills of most doctors here.

 

True, a few years ago I went to a large private hospital in Phuket,  I had acute pain in my lower back.

 

I was diagnosed to be Spondylosis, the doctor stated the pain in my lower back was caused by disintegrating disks in my lower spine and my bones fusing together, he was a specialist in that area of the body.

 

I had one scan and an Xray.

 

He said I will end up in a wheel chair.

 

I went back to the UK straight away, was seen by two specials on the NHS for free at the point of use.

 

I was told no soft tissue damage after a scan, no Spondylosis, disks and spine were normal for my age (60's) it was a muscular problem.

 

He sent me to see another specialist related to the muscle problem, I was told to strengthen my core muscles and was told what to do to deal with the problem.

 

A year later I was back to normal, now I just have standard 'old bloke back ache' 😀

 

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3 hours ago, 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

 

Possibly he did, but people who are extremely sick or in a coma can't beg. Nor can they bitch, unlike yourself.

1 hour ago, GammaGlobulin said:

 

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...!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Could also be a guy, a friend, a neighbour, a fellow teacher, or a step-daughter or a niece of a conjugal partner.

 

Regardless, they won't have the money to pay for this hospital stay but, knowing Thai people, I would BET they have already made some considerable sacrifices to keep him comfortable and alive.

14 hours ago, DUNROAMIN said:

As soon as you find out you have serious problems, fly back to your home country, if possible. From my personal experience I do not have much faith in diagnostic skills of most doctors here

And one of the big issues here is the language barrier, especially when you have to explain your illness symptoms

Death by prostitute...best way to go...heart attack right at the end - try, try again.

14 hours ago, DUNROAMIN said:

As soon as you find out you have serious problems, fly back to your home country, if possible. From my personal experience I do not have much faith in diagnostic skills of most doctors here.

And one of the big issues here is the language barrier, especially when you have to explain your illness symptoms

6 hours ago, soalbundy said:

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

 

I was back until a month ago in the UK for five months as I was buying a property there.

 

I had to change doctors as I had a different address to when I was last there.

 

I pressed a few buttons on my NHS app on my iPhone to register with a doctor's surgery five minutes walk away, the application took ten minutes.

 

Two days later I had been registered and a week after had set up twice monthly appointment with the doctor to deal with blood pressure, all nice and easy.

 

Free medicine and treatment at the point of use.

 

A friend has appointments every few months at top London hospitals for cancer and other ailments, he said the service has been great over the years,  all free at the point of use.

 

The NHS is a political football between political parties, plus a large majority of the population feel a special entitlement as far as I can see over the years it has been great.

 

The news if honest should say, a number of people had problems with GP and hospital appointments, tens of millions did not.

 

if he was working he has health coverage, so why does he have these costs?

15 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Tend to agree with that, 70+ and still working with no real health care plan in place...

 

And yet we have the idiot contingent in this forum who  tell older people who can still place health insurance to cancel the coverage.

14 minutes ago, ericthai said:

if he was working he has health coverage, so why does he have these costs?

 

Not all health coverage is the same. Basic access does not equate to best in class care. basic care can mean a bed in a general ward and the most basic of treatments.

7 hours ago, Jonathan Swift said:

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. 

I'm pretty sure the UK could teach the US a thing or two about mistreating its veterans . Its a national disgrace

3 hours ago, NanLaew said:

 

Could also be a guy, a friend, a neighbour, a fellow teacher, or a step-daughter or a niece of a conjugal partner.

 

 

You forgot ladyboy 

20 hours ago, angryguy said:

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

 

so you moved back home, but still hanging out on thai expat forums .. but you dont miss thailand. 

fair enough. 

 

6 hours ago, Celsius said:

 

You forgot ladyboy 

 

Yes, but curiously enough, you didn't.

2 hours ago, save the frogs said:

 

so you moved back home, but still hanging out on thai expat forums .. but you dont miss thailand. 

fair enough. 

 

 

It's a common enough affliction. No need to be so dismissive.

9 hours ago, vangrop said:

And one of the big issues here is the language barrier, especially when you have to explain your illness symptoms

Doctors all speak English, even in government hospitals.

Google translate can be used for the harder medical words.

 

At over 70 ...... accept your death.

7 hours ago, Tatman95 said:

you are dumb as they come

he is veteran of the british army

just stating his honour

The army is a game of cowboys and Indians for adults, they need the boy scouts experience instead of being a self sufficient adult following a worthwhile career that produces something usable for society. Honour has a childish ring to it, a politician in the 1700's said ''Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel'', he was right, it's all so ridiculous. 

3 hours ago, soalbundy said:

The army is a game of cowboys and Indians for adults, they need the boy scouts experience instead of being a self sufficient adult following a worthwhile career that produces something usable for society. Honour has a childish ring to it, a politician in the 1700's said ''Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel'', he was right, it's all so ridiculous. 

 

A. Politician. Hilarious.

15 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Could also be a guy

 

Total impossibility.

This is most definitely the Thai female form if I have ever seen it, and I have.

No doubt, she is a close other.

The only question is WHO?

 

I would investigate further if only I knew where to begin.

 

3 hours ago, nauseus said:

 

A. Politician. Hilarious.

Actually Samuel Johnson was more of an intellectual than a politician who wrote political pamphlets commenting on political issues of his day, he was generally considered to be a conservative.

On 10/2/2025 at 1:21 PM, CM Dad said:

The article didn't say he was teaching to try and cover expenses.  It didn't mention he financial situation at all.  Many people continue working late in life simply because they want to stay active and love what they do.

 
The OP does mention English teaching. That's where I got it from. And in the article link below it says:

 

"The former Royal Fleet Auxiliary serviceman, who served in the Falklands, the Gulf, Bosnia, and Iraq, had been dividing his time between his home in the UK and Thailand where he worked as a teacher before falling ill five months ago."

 

But if he was still teaching only because he loves it as you say, then that should suggest his financial situation is solid. Yet look at the low cost government hospital bed he is in and the fact that there is a GoFundMe to try and repatriate him. To me it doesn't sound like he was financially secure and still teaching just for the love of it. 
 

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/brit-dad-fights-life-thai-35961658

8 minutes ago, Alpha84 said:

 
The OP does mention English teaching. That's where I got it from. And in the article link below it says:

 

"The former Royal Fleet Auxiliary serviceman, who served in the Falklands, the Gulf, Bosnia, and Iraq, had been dividing his time between his home in the UK and Thailand where he worked as a teacher before falling ill five months ago."

 

But if he was still teaching only because he loves it as you say, then that should suggest his financial situation is solid. Yet look at the low cost government hospital bed he is in and the fact that there is a GoFundMe to try and repatriate him. To me it doesn't sound like he was financially secure and still teaching just for the love of it. 
 

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/brit-dad-fights-life-thai-35961658

 

Which is surprising as he would have a very good navy pension and a UK government pension at least plus his income from the teaching job.

 

I hope he is not one those idiots who blew all of him money on a very young bar girl and her family as that is quite common I have seen.

 

3 minutes ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

Which is surprising as he would have a very good navy pension and a UK government pension at least plus his income from the teaching job.

Yes, that's what I said in an earlier post on page one of this topic. 
 

3 minutes ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

I hope he is not one those idiots who blew all of him money on a very young bar girl and her family as that is quite common I have seen.

Anything is possible. More money than sense seems like a common and repeating theme for foreigners in Thailand. 

On 10/2/2025 at 9:43 AM, NanLaew said:

 

What was his financial situation ten years ago?

Likely better than it is now. 

8 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Doctors all speak English, even in government hospitals.

Google translate can be used for the harder medical words.

 

At over 70 ...... accept your death.

Might not feel this way when the time comes.  Also, a slow death in a crowded ward is not ideal. 

 

I bet you could get  insurance coverage with a 300k deductible for 25k a year.  From past posts, you seem to be in good health without major pre-existing conditions.  I don't need to be in a private hospital but would like to in a private room. It would also make your last days/months easier on the family.

On 10/2/2025 at 9:53 AM, freedomnow said:

Death by prostitute...best way to go...heart attack right at the end - try, try again.

 

Funny, the Chinese have a phrase for dying in the middle of having sex, ma shang feng, 马上风

On 10/1/2025 at 9:11 PM, NanLaew said:

Six weeks later, no settlement and they're still fobbing him off and asking for more paperwork.

 

And this is why I keep beating the drum of self insured.

 

Insurance co's are in the business of NOT paying.

 

Their #1 concern is NOT to pay out.

 

They are the lowest form of scum in this hell realm we call life.

 

Why anyone with half a brain would give them $$ each month for a policy they will tear you apart over?

On 10/1/2025 at 9:50 PM, ChaiyaTH said:

To be honest, it seems in places like CM, that the majority of 50+ people lives on a shoe string budget with risks like these around the next corner.

 

Many of them appear to be digital nomads.

 

I like the idea of working remotely, but It is a kind of cult, like Mormonism.

 

Many live together in same house and share a bathroom.

 

Nobody can say anything that might be construed as 'offensive' because some 30 year old might start crying.

I want to know more about the girl in the hospital-room image.

 

She looks really nice, meaning a nice person.

Obviously, she is there because she has had a long-term relationship with this man.

She is just a normal woman who must care.

 

Look at the clothes she wears, jeans and a beige cotton shirt.

So, she is conservatively dressed, and without a tattoo in sight.

 

I can tell that she is about 40 years old.

 

So, might it be possible to find out more about how this guy spent his retirement in Thailand, and for how long?

 

Certainly he must have had close family ties here in Thailand.

This must be the reason he refused to leave, when months earlier he actually had the chance.

 

He was hoping to delay his departure for just one more month, and for just one month more, in order to remain here with his friends and loved ones.

 

This seems obvious.

Therefore, I am at a loss trying to comprehend the heartlessness of the overly critical comments here.

 

How many of you might also do the same when facing the prospect of leaving your GF behind, knowing that it would be the last time you would see her?

 

And, just think what his GF must be feeling, about now, knowing that she, her family, are unable to provide the expensive medical care which is needed.

 

Maybe it is just better, for all, to not have a GF.

 

Still, without a GF, life can sometimes become lonely, unless one prefers being alone.

 

For sure, that girl looks super from behind, in her jeans.

The photo does do her justice, I think.

 

But, I want to see more.