Aussie father who suffered brain haemorrhage in Bali will fly home today after family was forced to crowdfund emergency flight when insurance company left them stranded
- Australian father in Bali to fly home today
- Raj Jayarajah suffered a brain haemorrhage on Friday
An Australian man who suffered a brain haemorrhage while holidaying in Bali will board a medical evacuation flight in the coming hours.
Raj Jayarajah, 43, was inside a Nusa Dua villa with his eight-year-old son, Ari, when he suffered a seizure and fell to the floor, hitting his head on the ground on Friday.
He has undergone emergency brain surgery but requires medical evacuation to Australia to get lifesaving treatment for his injuries.
Friend Andrew MacQueen, who was holidaying with the family in Bali, told Today the family have been able to secure a Life Flight that will arrive on Wednesday.
Raj Jayarajah, 43, was inside a Nusa Dua villa with his eight-year-old son, Ari, when he suffered a seizure and fell to the floor, hitting his head on the ground
He has undergone emergency brain surgery but requires medical evacuation to Australia to get lifesaving treatment for his injuries
‘Good news is that the plane actually arrives today,’ he said.
“It has been approved, been paid for, everything’s been funded by the family at this moment so that’s arriving today which is great.’
A GoFundMe started by Mr MacQueen has raised almost $180,000 of it’s $250,000 target but with the insurance company taking it’s time to release funds, the family have had to foot the upfront costs for the medical evacuation.
‘We thank everyone for their interest and the donations have been outstanding and unbelievable, we are so thankful,’ Mr MacQueen said.
He said the family are surviving ‘hour by hour’ at the moment and are ‘beside themselves with grief and anxiety’.
In a post shared alongside the fundraiser, Mr MacQueen said his friend was placed in an induced coma in the intensive care unit of a Bali hospital.
‘He has been put into an induced coma where they have been working with both doctors in Bali and Australia to keep him alive and stable,’ he said.
‘He is now in critical condition in the ICU where we are planning to send him home back to Australia via a repatriation flight with a team of medical experts and doctors.’
He said the extent of the damage to his brain is still unknown and the road to recovery will be long.
Mr Macqueen, who had been holidaying with the family, said the businessman’s son Ari had saved his father’s life with his quick-thinking.
The Melbourne businessman was rushed to hospital along with his son and wife Emma (pictured) and underwent emergency brain surgery on the island
Mr Jayarajah’s desperate family and friends are raising money to put him on a repatriation flight to Melbourne expected to cost up to $250,000
The 10-year-old ran to hotel staff for help while his mother was out on a walk.
‘Time was of the essence,’ Mr MacQueen told 9News.
‘If he was somewhere else on the island or stuck in traffic or snorkelling with us as we had been, I’d say he wouldn’t be around.’
He described Mr Jayarajah as a ‘top bloke’ and a ‘family man’ who desperately needed the help of his community to come home.
