Any help would be greatly appreciated..

[staniulyte]

I?m really sorry to be so forward and I hope this sort of post is allowed. Any help at all would be appreciated.

Urgent financial support needed for my brother after an almost fatal motorbike accident in South Africa

My brother Rola ? only 26 and at the start of his young adult life, had a tragic motorbike accident on Wednesday, 14 April 2021 that resulted in a life-changing brain injury. He went on an extended visit to South Africa just over a year ago, after growing up in the UK where he lived with his parents and carried on working after his school career. His flight back to the UK was booked for the 17th of May 2021. He planned to return this month due to the lack of work and money as a result of the economic crisis that the Covid restrictions and lockdown regulations have put on the entire South African economy. Sadly he ended up on life- support in SA.

Rola and his friend went out to an off-road track to test out his friend?s ?new motorbike?. Rola was given the opportunity to try out the motorbike and as he jumped over the ramp, he lost control of the bike.

According to eyewitnesses, he flew up into the air at a height of +- 8 ? 10 meters and came straight down on his head - with the full impact of his body and the motorbike then crashed down on top of him. Thankfully Rola was wearing protective gear and a helmet at the time.

His friend who saw the accident happening rushed to his side from a distance and immediately called for medical help. Rola was in severe shock, body covered in sweat, shaking uncontrollably. His neck was swollen and he was struggling to breathe due to the pressure and restriction the helmet was placing on the neck, brain, and rest of his head. His friend immediately loosened the helmet and put him in the recovery position. His body was purple due to the lack of oxygen to the brain.

Ambulance and paramedics took close to an hour to arrive. Lack of oxygen and the heavy blow to his head exacerbated the damage to his brain. He was rushed to a small remote hospital in one of the African townships on the outskirts of Krugersdorp, a suburb of Johannesburg in South Africa, and admitted straight into ICU where he was placed on life support as the medical team feared the worst. After almost 5 days of being in ICU, he was moved to a High-Care Ward where he is currently being treated for TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury).

While all this was going on with Rola in South Africa our mother scrapped together whatever money she was able to get (under very difficult circumstances) to get on a plane to South Africa to be by her son?s side. Ignoring the financial implications of not being able to work and pay for the monthly bills, she got a flight a few days later and was finally reunited with Rola a week ago - to be by his side daily, feed him freshly cooked food, massages his aching body and talk to him ? trying to jolt back memories and give him the personal love and closeness he needs.

Unfortunately, as a result of his financial situation, Rola was not able to afford medical insurance whilst in South Africa which meant that he had to be admitted to a Provincial hospital that does not have the proper medical resources and funding capability to perform some of the much-needed tests that Rola so desperately needs like an MRI scan (which could assist doctors in determining the extent of his injuries and the possible medium to long-term neurological damage and trauma to the brain).

Currently, 2 weeks after the accident and still in a High Care ward, Rola faces a long road to recovery. Our immediate concern however is to try and get Rola back to the UK as soon as possible. As a British citizen, we have been advised to get him back to the UK soon where he?ll get proper, immediate medical help and attention needed for this type of severe brain injury he has unfortunately sustained. He would naturally also need 24/7 medical support & care, rehab, physio not to mention the proper neurological assessments and tests to support such traumatic brain injury. Any further delay will prolong his chances of recovery and cause possible long-lasting health issues as it might take months if not years for him to regain some of his abilities he once had. We take each day at a time, hoping and praying for progress.

My mum is waiting on the doctors to inform her when and how he would be allowed to be discharged from the hospital to get him on a flight back to the UK. Naturally, with all the current Covid restrictions been placed on travel to and from the UK, both Rola, and my mum will require to undergo Covid testing and possible quarantine restrictions which are all costs that we do not have. According to conservative estimates, the cost of travel, current, and future medical care, and various tests and quarantine costs we have estimated that we urgently need ?30 000 to pay for all these unexpected expenses, as well as the medical care he will need during transportation to the UK and once in the UK, to the hospital, etc.

Any donations (however big or small) or assistance you can provide in helping my mum to bring my brother back home to the UK would be sincerely appreciated. Once he is back in the UK, we will as a family be able to support him and will care for his daily needs in terms of physio and rehab to bring him back to some form of normality.

Thank you in advance - for reading about my brother?s sad story and for your donation. I pray that God bless you and that in your time of need, you too will be supported by compassionate individuals.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/helpbring-my-brain-injured-brother-back-to-the-uk?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet