DESPERATE friends and family of an Islander who has been “fighting for his life” in a Filipino hospital have launched a repatriation fundraiser to help him come home.
Dessie Dalziel’s solo trip to the south-east Asian country in March was tragically interrupted when he was struck down by an infectious disease.
After struggling with what was initially thought to be heatstroke, the army veteran’s condition rapidly declined as he became unable to walk or move with severely swollen legs.
Due to his worsening state, a friend flew out to care for him on the island of Siquijor and took a hospital in Dumaguete, where extensive tests eventually diagnosed melioidosis – an infectious disease contracted through bacteria in soil and water.
The disease can be deadly if untreated.
Kat de La Mare is now calling on the public to help raise £15,000 to fund the medical treatment and repatriation costs for Dessie’s treatment and recovery.
Just over £3,000 has so far been raised of the target amount set by Mrs de La Mare, who has known Mr Dalziel for over a decade and is a close family-friend.
Describing it as “such an anxious time for us all”, she said she started the fundraiser as the hospital fees mounting up and Mr Dalziel’s travel insurer has said it will not cover the costs.
His stay in Dumaguete has cost over £3,000 top date and that figure is rising each day, increased further by food and water costs which the hospital doesn’t provide.
“It has put a massive strain on him at a time when he just needs to be focusing on healing,” Mrs de La Mare said. “We just want to help him come home”
The money raised will go towards the cost of funding a carer and physiotherapist to support Mr Dalziel’s lengthy rehabilitation process once he has completed the first of many antibiotic courses.
Once well enough, Mrs de La Mare said she hopes he will be allowed to fly home to Jersey, where he has been based since retiring from the 2nd Battallion Queen’s Regiment and the 1st Battallion Princess of Wales’s Regiment.
However, as melioidosis is such a dangerous disease she said they are unsure when Dessie will be able to enter the UK.
Mrs de La Mare explained that Dessie is the first westerner to have contracted the infection, amid what appears to be an outbreak in Siquijor, and they are in conversation with the British Embassy in the Philippines.
He also appeared in Filippino news coverage about the outbreak late last month.
Expressing her concern, Mrs de La Mare added that “many people love him dearly” and want to see Dessie returned home safe and well.
“We are desperately praying that everyone can come together to help him in his time of need and show him that he is loved and won’t be alone and penniless for his relocation and recovery back in Jersey.”
If you would like to donate to Dessie’s fundraiser, head to www.gofundme.com/f/help-dessie-fight-meloidosis-and-return-safely-home
