Partner’s Shanghai battle to bring home teacher in coma
I get the impression everyone else wishes she would die because it would make life easier Adrian Casey
THE partner of a teacher comatosed for nine months in a Chinese hospital after a routine clinical procedure went wrong has said: ‘’They’d rather she died.’.’
Adrian Casey revealed the medical bill in Shanghai is now nearly £200,000.
Mr Casey is desperately attempting to bring Emma Grainger – who fell into unconsciousness following hydrocortisone injections to ease migraine – back to the UK. He admits her long-term prognosis is grim.
The couple moved from their home in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, in 2019 to take teaching jobs in the city.
Mr Casey is pursuing his own action against the clinic involved but the tangled, complex legal system has slowed his claim to a near standstill.
Initially, the bill for Ms Grainger’s care was a staggering £1,650 a day – and Mr Casey even had to pay £6 to have her head shaved before a lifesaving op.
Even the water she drank had a price tag. To add to the heartbreak, he has been denied a hospital visit for four months because of Covid restrictions.
He is now battling to get her back to Britain, but that will cost another small fortune. For an able-bodied individual, one-way flights from Shanghai are £3,000.
“I think £20,000 is a conservative figure,” he admitted.
Mr Casey said: “I can’t physically hold her hand and speak to her, which is pretty distressing.
“The prognosis is not good – they said this might be it forever, but she is stable. Her eyes are open, but there is no cognitive response. She is clinically in a coma.
“I am not a surgeon, I am only going on what I’ve been told.
“The long term is not positive. She is not at risk of death.
“If I give up hope, what is there left? I am the only hope she has.
“I get the impression everyone else wishes she would die because it would make life easier. They wouldn’t have the financial burden then.
“I know that sounds horrible, but it is my personal feeling. I feel I’m the only one who wants a positive outcome.
“The embassy won’t help because they don’t deem it an emergency. There must be someone, somewhere who cares about their citizens and will assist.
“My main aim is to get her home because she can’t stay in a Chinese hospital forever. Whether repatriation is possible in the current climate, I don’t know.”
Mr Casey described himself as “stuck between a rock and a hard place”.
His civil claim for negligence against the clinic responsible will, he admits, “take forever”. But while it still slowly progresses, medics have hope they will one day be paid. They will allow Emma’s bill to continue to rise.
If that hope is snuffed out, the patient and her partner will be plunged into a very dark place.
“I cannot give up hope,” said Mr Casey, “because I genuinely don’t know what will happen if it doesn’t proceed. Emma would be legally responsible for the bill.
“Sometimes, China can be a scary place. You don’t have that legal comfort you have at home. The point is, they change things overnight because they can. If they make a decision, that’s it.”
He’s also tied to his teaching job in Shanghai. Mr Casey, understandably, needs the money.
The couple’s new life in China – they both gained teaching jobs in the country – turned into a nightmare on Saturday, February 6.
Ms Grainger was to have eight hydrocortisone injections in her spine to ease back problems and migraine. Mr Casey said: “After the fifth one, Emma stopped breathing and her heart stopped. She effectively died in front of my eyes.”
She has languished in a coma ever since.
She had medical insurance cover, but it was capped at £11,000.
That sum was surpassed in the first weeks of medical care.
A gofundme appeal, set up at the start of the tragedy, has to date raised £6,100. That is a drop in the ocean.
In the gofundme appeal, Mr Casey spelt out the scale of the crisis.
He posted: “Emma attended a Chinese clinic for a ‘routine’ procedure that went horribly wrong. She stopped breathing and her heart stopped.
“They revived her heart, but she still could not breathe.
“She was rushed to the emergency room and then placed into ICU. She has been in a coma, fighting for her life ever since.
“I am having a bureaucratic nightmare with Chinese lawyers and insurance companies, who are simply not paying what they should be for her care.
“I cannot afford to pay for her care for much longer.
“As there is no such thing as the NHS in China, everything is private and costs money.
“As an example of how frustrating things are here, for medical reasons, they had to shave Emma’s hair, but would not do it until I brought in the 50rmb (about £6) in cash and signed an agreement form. On top of the daily ICU costs, I have paid over £1,000 for other tests and procedures. I am struggling to cope with the emotional aspects of witnessing her horrific suffering during the procedure itself, together with the constant language and cultural barriers posed in China. Anything you can do to help URGENTLY would be massively appreciated.”
His despair is chronicled in a series of heartbreaking Facebook posts.
In March he told followers: “As I’ve said before, EVERYTHING here costs money. Today, I even had to buy water and cups to give to ICU to enable them to continue some of her daily medications and nutrition.
“As Emma is now no longer receiving any salary or benefits, it is putting more pressure on me.”
Even visiting Emma has proved difficult, with medics enforcing strict infection controls during Covid.
On April 5, Mr Casey posted: “I am working with Emma’s employer to arrange for her to be moved to a rehabilitation hospital,” he said. “She is currently fairly stable, although still in a coma and needs different treatment now.
“I now have a Chinese lawyer retained to fight for her position, but that is being delayed by the mindnumbing endless bureaucracy here in China regarding legal documents, which my UK solicitor is helping to resolve, slowly.
“On that note, I’ve also received a bill for £5,000 from them today, so desperately need more fundraising efforts.
“This is on top of the approx £30,000 currently outstanding on her Chinese hospital bills.”
The tidal wave of support from England has helped Mr Casey to survive the despair, frustration and anger.
One friend recently posted: “It honestly breaks my heart. Can we all please just donate £5, £10 anything to help. I’m not one to put begging posts on, but I really, really want to help.
“Does anyone know of anyone who will be doing the Bridgnorth walk?
“That would maybe help get sponsors to raise money – after all, she’s a Bridgnorth girl and we need to get her home.
“Her partner Adrian Casey is doing all he can, but as you will see from his updates, it’s a massive battle and extremely costly. Please. can you help us?”
If you want to help, go to www. gofundme.com/f/help-emmarecover-from-her-coma