Desperate appeal to bring terminally-ill teacher home from Vietnam

A nurse originally from Middleton is desperately appealing to bring her terminally ill sister home from Vietnam.

Nicola Danson, a nurse at Salford Royal, is aiming to bring her youngest sister Selena back from Ho Chi Minh to her home in south Manchester after becoming unwell in December.

Selena, 39, who was working as a teacher, was admitted to hospital with pulmonary embolisms (lung clots) and deep vein thromboses and further investigations discovered she has cervical cancer.

Nicola and their mother, 78, flew out to be with Selena, who was discharged from hospital for Christmas Day so the family could spend time together. The following day, they received the devastating news that Selena has a rare and fast-growing cancer which has already spread to her liver and is at stage 4.

Selena wishes to return home to South Manchester, where the family relocated from Middleton around 20 years ago.

Nicola said: “Selena desperately wants to return home to South Manchester. We, her family, want to fulfil her wish and bring her back home as soon as possible but the only way this can happen is for her to be flown back by a medical team.

“Selena was born with a heart defect, she needed major heart surgery as a baby, and again aged nine. Her existing heart condition, pulmonary embolisms and advanced cancer means the high altitude when flying means she needs close monitoring by a specialist medical team throughout the flight to keep her comfortable and reduce her risk of very serious complications.

“Whilst Selena does have medical insurance in Vietnam, it does not cover repatriation back to her own country. Vietnamese immigration rules mean my mother and I cannot stay in Vietnam long term. Once we leave the country Selena will be left on her own with no practical or emotional support.”

Nicola and family are speaking with various air ambulance teams to plan Selena’s return home, and are exploring the possibility of using a commercial airline to reduce costs.

“Due to the medical staff and equipment, Selena requires on such a long journey the initial quotes we received were in the region of £100K. We were hopeful we could meet this from money our family can pull together and this fundraiser. However due to the complexity of Selena’s medical condition, we have now been told the cost of an air ambulance will be nearer £200K which is an enormous blow. It will take us much longer to raise this amount and sadly time is not on our side.

The air ambulance teams and Selena’s clinical team in Vietnam will now liaise to determine whether there is any possibility they could use a commercial airline to get her home. If so, she will need close monitoring and additional investigations in hospital before the flight, be accompanied by 2-3 highly trained medical staff and travel with all the necessary equipment.

“We are hoping and praying that this is possible. The starting cost of repatriation by commercial airliner is significantly less than an air ambulance, it can be as low as £50K.

“However the complexity of Selena’s medical conditions means the cost is expected to be higher than this, possibly closer to the figure we were initially anticipating - but which is in our sight.”

She continued: “Everything is in place for Selena’s arrival back in the UK. Our family GP has been informed and the Vietnamese oncology team have already made the referral to The Christie Hospital in Manchester.

“The cost of flying Selena home from Vietnam to Manchester by air ambulance is enormous. Our family can raise some of the money required but not enough, we still need to raise a significant amount.

“Any donation you can make is greatly appreciated as it brings us a step closer to making Selena’s wish come true so she can spend whatever time she has left surrounded by her family and friends.

“Any funds we raise that exceed the cost of bringing Selena home by air ambulance will be donated to The Christie Hospital charity to help them make a real difference to people living with cancer and their families.”

Donations to bring Selena home to the UK can be made via GoFundMe.