£10,000 needed to bring Rochdale ex-pat home for urgent medical treatment

Nicholas Jones, left, with son Reece in the Philippines hospital

A Rochdale man who has lived in the Philippines for the last four years is in desperate need of a liver and heart transplant – and his family are aiming to raise £10,000 so he can be treated and brought back to the UK.

Nicholas Jones was diagnosed with liver disease on 28 September which rapidly turned into liver cirrhosis. The 56-year-old is in urgent need of a liver transplant and also a heart transplant due to liver failure and other resulting issues.

Reece Jones – Nicholas’ son – and his partner, Ella Johnson, have flown out to the Philippines and are now trying to raise enough money for treatment, and for a medical team onboard a flight back to England.

So far, £3,900 of their £10,000 target has been raised.

Nicholas is currently being treated at a public hospital in the Philippines which his family say “has the worst conditions anyone has experienced” with Reece and Ella saying they’ve had to “sleep on the dirty hospital floor full of bugs and rubbish every night” as well as “re-doing IV [intravenous] lines because of air bubbles [which can be fatal].”

Ella said: “The costs so far are £5,000 for treatment at a public hospital. The private medical bills for a foreigner are really expensive but these treatments are vital to save his life. A liver transplant is going to be the only way he will survive.

“Reece has already lost his mum and has nobody else other than his dad.

“Other costs are at least £5,000 again for a medical team to be on board the plane back to England due to his condition. He requires a doctor and nurse to be with him at all times.

“Nick’s condition is rapidly deteriorating and he won’t last much longer unless the procedures happen ASAP. This is the only option we have to get him back to England so he can undergo his surgery; without this care, he will die.

“Please, if anyone can help and spare anything to help us pay the bills or potentially pay to privately get him home, we would be so, so grateful. We would like to thank everyone who has shared and donated already; it honestly means more than you can imagine.”

Donations to help bring Nicholas back to the UK can be made via GoFundMe.