A MAN who was trapped in Thailand after a horrific bike crash left him in a coma has finally returned to the UK.
Adrian Wallace, 34, was hit by a car while he was on holiday in Phuket and his distraught family didn’t have the funds to bring him home.
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The 34-year-old was flown home after spending two months in a hospital in Thailand.
He was accompanied by medics for the 23-hour journey to the UK and taken by ambulance from the airport to the Royal Sussex County Hospital.
Although Adrian is now awake and can open his eyes he is still in a “semi-comatose” state.
Upon seeing her son his mum, Julie Hopkins told The Sun: “It was really, really tough, although he had his eyes open I don’t think he recognised it was me.
“I had to come to the realisation of where he’s at and it hit home that it’s going to take a while before I get any response.”
Although Adrian faces a long and complicated road to recovery Julie says she’s trying to stay positive that he will get better.
She said: “We’re hoping we get him back completely but at the moment it’s been three months and there’s a long way to go.
“No one has given indication that that is the case, they won’t give you a prognosis because they just don’t know”
She added: “He’s not really there, not as the lively loving person that we know, but the overriding feeling is relief that he’s back.
“We still have anxiety about what the future will hold.”
The mum shared that the biggest sign of progress came at the beginning of the month while Adrian was in Thailand and his uncle Alan was visiting him.
Julie said Adrian was able to lift two fingers when he was asked to and hopes that visits from friends and family will accelerate his recovery.
So far a fundraiser set up by the family has raised £48,000 towards Adrian’s treatment but Julie still has to cover ongoing costs for the “long journey ahead.”
“I had been so focused on just getting him home but now we have to get him well, walking talking and out of the hospital,” she said.
Despite facing any parents worst nightmare Julie was able ot find some comfort in the fact that Adrian that he looked “calm and relaxed”when she saw him.
Julie expressed “gratitude to everyone who has supported us through donating to our fund raising and or sharing the link.”
And added that Dr Gerhard Melcher who works at Phuket International health clinic was a huge help in getting Adrian back home.
Before the accident Adrian worked as a as a first mate and sometimes a captain.
He taking a break in between jobs working on superyachts when the “nightmare” occurred.
Julie said that when she first on the January 3 she “felt sick” and her legs “went weak.”
Initially the family had limited detail and relied on information given to them through the Foreign Office.
All Julie knew was her son was alive but seriously injured.
The worried mum later found out her son was “in a coma unconscious, unable to make any movement and with a serious head injury”.
He also had knee fractures, multiple rib fractures, facial trauma and a dislocated hip and will likely be requiring further surgery.
Julie was also told Adrian had already had one operation as his “bone was protruding from his leg.”
She told the nurse to “do whatever it takes” to save him.
There were no witnesses to the accident and it is believed Adrian’s bike caught the back of a car.
“The driver of that car has not made any claim against Adrian but I think Adrian was deemed to be at fault in the end,” Julie said.
“Everyone has just said the roads are really dangerous out there though with u-turns being allowed in the middle of dual carriageways.”
A police report from the crash said: Adrian has driven a motorcycle “normally” and had crashed into the back of another car.
“I just think it was a really unfortunate accident and I’m obviously really upset at the outcome for Adrian but I don’t feel any real anger towards anyone else.
“I am just so glad that the medics got to Adrian quickly and in time to get him to hospital and keep him alive,” said Julie.
The mum had previously feared the injuries were so severe that when she first saw a photo of Adrian she felt “relieved that he was recognisable as (her) son”.
But she didn’t realise didn’t realise that Adrian had been in a coma since the day of the accident.
“I assumed he was in an induced coma and that they would be able to wake him up,” she said.
“When I got to the bottom of it he has been in a coma since the accident so they don’t actually know when he’s going to wake up,” she added.”
Julie said she is “very grateful and “overwhelmed” by the “amazing” support she’s received both through messages and her fundraiser.
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