Family’s desperate plea to ‘bring our boy home’ as he fights for life 5,000 miles away after motorbike crash

A dad is fighting for his life more than 5,000 miles from home after a horror motorbike crash in Thailand.

Jay Bridgehouse, 32, from Stockport, was in the southeast Asian country “chasing his dreams for the future” when he was hit by a pick-up truck at around 8.30pm (UK time) on 25 February.

His family claims he was hit by a driver travelling at high speed while he was riding his motorbike with no helmet, and is now in a critical condition.

The dad-of-five was rushed by ambulance to Koh Samui International hospital in Thailand where he underwent emergency, life-saving surgery due to a severe bleed on his brain. He also suffered multiple fractures to his skull, face and body.

Doctors had expected the 32-year-old to wake up within four to six hours after surgery, but he slipped into a coma. His family are now sitting by his bedside “praying for a miracle” 10 days on, but said their “hopes and prayers are going unanswered”.

After the first operation, Jay then developed a second bleed on the brain and caught pneumonia. His family said the first round of surgery led to an infection in his brain which as since spread into his bloodstream causing him to develop sepsis.

Jay has been intubated from the time of the accident until medics performed a tracheotomy on 4 March in the hope that he would breathe for himself. However, due to the swelling around the brain stem which is affecting the part of his brain that controls his breathing, Jay was unable to breathe on his own. He is currently on a ventilator which is breathing for him.

CT scans and continued tests show Jay’s brain function remains minimal due to infarctions throughout his brain, and his family say they have been told his prognosis is “very poor”.

Jay’s medical bills currently stand at more than £10,000 and his family has now launched a fundraising appeal in a desperate attempt to bring him home.

His younger sister Abbie Bridgehouse said: “The British Consulate helped us secure emergency travel documents and passports so we could fly to Jay’s bedside. We were so uncertain of what was waiting for us in Thailand due to his ever-changing condition, complications and cultural differences.”

She added: “The difference here in Thailand to the UK is, by law, they have to carry on giving Jay care until there is no brain function evident, but we are praying it doesn’t come to that.

“Jay’s medical bills currently stand at over £10,000. A medical EVAC to bring Jay back to the UK to receive any type of treatment, while he is unable to breathe by himself, has been estimated to be around £32,000. If Jay can breathe on his own, we have been advised we can bring him home for around £6,000. These are the options if Jay can beat the infection.”

‘We are asking for help so he is not alone’

Abbie said Jay was in Thailand to “chase his dreams” and described him as a “fun loving, and often teasing, big brother”.

She said: “He is an avid Manchester United fan and watched the games whenever he could. He has been known to blast out an out of tune version of Tom Jones ‘Delilah’ on the karaoke whenever he had the chance.

“Jay is Manchester born and bred, still very connected with home, top of his playlist is Aitch, the rapper from Moston, Manchester. He was in contact with home often and always ended his calls with ‘I love you all the world big sausages’ and ‘I miss you.’”

Abbie said the family have borrowed money and “maxed out credit cards” to be in Thailand with Jay, and now have “nowhere else to turn other than to beg for the generosity and kindness of family, friends and strangers” to help save Jay.

She added: “We are asking for help to bring our boy home to Manchester. We are asking for help to pay Jay’s medical bills. We are asking for help to sit by Jay’s bedside, so he is not alone while we hold his hand, and he fights for his life.”

Donations to support the family’s fundraiser can be made online via GoFundMe and the campaign has already raised more than £11,000.