British man fighting for life in Cambodia as family face £8,000 a day hospital bill
A British man is fighting for his life in a Cambodian hospital, while his family is struggling with a £8,000 a day bill for his treatment.
Ben Wilkins, 32, from Chinley, Derbyshire, was discovered unconscious in his hostel room by friends on Monday.
It started days of horror for his family thousands of miles away in the UK.
He was rushed to a hospital in Siem Reap from the island of Koh Rong in Cambodia where he was just halfway through his holiday.
No one knows how long Ben ‘had been unconscious in his room on his own,’ his sister Imogen Wilkins said.
But getting treatment was not straightforward. Ben was in a coma, diagnosed with acute kidney failure, severe pneumonia and had to be ventilated to breathe, Imogen said.
Now Ben’s family are facing a massive £8,000 a day bill for intensive care.
Since the nightmare began, the family have spent ‘upwards of £60,000,’ Imogen said.
The mum-of-one explained: ‘Ben has no medical or holiday insurance, when you’re young you think you’re invincible, so all of this is not just a heart-breaking strain on us all, but is coming at a huge financial cost to our family.’
The family launched a fundraiser to help with the skyrocketing costs for Ben who is starting to ‘respond to his treatments in the last 24 hours,’ Imogen said.
Her big brother endured two hospital journeys by ambulance to get to a hospital with dialysis.
Without it, Ben ‘would have died,’ Imogen said.
During the first trip to the hospital in Siem Reap, Ben was allegedly not given oxygen although ‘his blood oxygen levels were at 60%,’ Imogen claimed.
The next ambulance ride to cover 197 miles took five and a half hours from the town in the northwest of the country to the capital Phnom Penh.
If the family wanted to bring Ben home now, an air ambulance to the UK would cost between £125,000 and £200,000.
‘If this would even be an option,’ distraught Imogen said.
The siblings’ mum, dad and step-dad travelled to Cambodia, and are ‘living a nightmare right now,’ she continued.
Imogen had to stay at home with her two-year-old son, but the rest of the family are now by his side after a 20-hour journey.
The 32-year-old world traveller was ‘still on ventilator and receiving dialysis for his kidney failure and his pneumonia is still severe.’
Imogen added: ‘But there is positive news and he is responding to the treatments. He has still got a long, long way to go but he is getting amazing care.’
A spokesperson for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: ‘We are supporting the family of a British man in Cambodia and are in contact with the local authorities.’
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