Grandad survives on just water for 8 days after stroke
A SCOTS grandad survived on just water for eight days as he lay on the floor of a Thai holiday apartment after suffering a stroke.
Disaster struck while Bill Fairburn, from Dunbar in East Lothian, was on a twomonth trip to Thailand.
The 64-year-old, who was travelling on his own, took ill suddenly in Bangkok last month.
His family back home grew extremely concerned as they were unable to get in contact with him.
Bill’s daughter Fiona Gunn said: “He usually texts my auntie and his sister every day but we knew there was something up when he suddenly stopped texting them on March 22.”
Fiona launched a frantic online search to find her dad. She said: “Bangkok is like the size of London, so it made it near enough impossible to track him down.”
She was finally able to get in touch with someone who recognised Bill from a pub he had been drinking in. They were then able to track down the manager of his apartment complex.
Fiona said the manager was able to batter the flat’s door down and found the Scot surrounded by water pouring from a sink.
It is believed Bill pulled the U-bend from the sink as he desperately tried to stay alive during his ordeal.
He is said to have made an “unbelievable” recovery but remains in a private hospital in Bangkok.
The family are now trying to raise funds via a GoFundMe page to bring Bill back home to Scotland, after it emerged his travel insurance was only valid for trips shorter than 31 days.