The family of a man, left in a coma after an accident in Thailand, have been left ‘speechless’ after a campaign to bring him home netted £16,000 in a week.
Max Grainger, 35, was hit by a speeding driver in Hua Hin in July.
He slipped into a coma at the scene and doctors say there is only a slim chance he will recover.
Now Max – who was raised in Ottery and has lived in Sidmouth - remains 6,000 miles away in a hospital bed and his family are desperate to bring him home, so he can be surrounded by loved ones in his final moments.
The appeal - launched just a week ago - has already reached £16,000 – more than half of the £25,000 it will cost to bring Max back in a medical plane and pay his mounting hospital bill.
His dad, Richard, said: “I have been really touched by not only the size of the response, but the local response has been amazing and it is ongoing.
“It is awful with him stuck over there in Thailand with no way to get him back. Everybody seems to be of one mind and they want him back home.
“Wherever I go through the town, people are asking how it is going.”
He added: “It is a horrible feeling knowing he is out there and I do not want to never see him again.”
Max went out to live in Thailand, along with his mum, and did not have travel insurance, so his family launched the campaign to cover the colossal cost of bringing him back.
His hospital bills cost £1,000 per month, on top of the £600 per month it costs to cover his 24/seven nursing care.
Max’s sister, Freya, issued a huge thank you to everyone who has donated so far.
“We are all amazed and grateful. I do not think any of us thought we would get this response, I am quite speechless,” she said.
“It made us feel stronger knowing we have that level of support.”
His sister Alice described the ordeal she and her family have gone through to get to the bottom of what happened the night Max was hit - allegedly by a drunk driver, driving with no headlights. The man has admitted fault.
Alice said: “I don’t hate the guy and I don’t want him to spend the rest of his life in jail, but I want him to feel responsible.
“The doctors there are excellent; he is receiving good care, but there is a language barrier, so there are a lot of details that are lost in translation.”
Although the family are not holding out hope for his recovery, they do want to get a second opinion from doctors in England.
Max attended The King’s School before working as a joiner in Sidmouth and surrounding areas.
Alice told of how they used to go out in Sidmouth as teenagers.
If the diagnosis is confirmed, the family hope to bury Max in the churchyard opposite the family home in Ottery.
To make a donation to the campaign, visit: www.gofundme.com/helpbringmaxhome.
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