Family’s plea to bring man home from US hospital
THE family of a scuba instructor are desperate to raise thousands of pounds to help bring him home an accident in the US.
Garreth Crouth, 42, had a stroke which led to him falling into a swimming pool and almost drowning while visiting a friend in Kentucky last week. He is seriously ill in hospital in Cincinnati and, because his health insurance had expired, his family face a huge bill to get him home.
Garreth, who moved to Northumberland with his family at the age of 18 from South Africa, suffered a fractured spine, and he is having problems breathing independently, but a second stroke while in hospital caused further complications. Though it’s too early to say when he might be able to be brought home, his family are hoping to fundraise to get him back to the UK.
His Cramlington-based sister Lauren-Lee Crouth told The Chronicle: “He was working as a scuba diving instructor. Last week he was visiting friends in Kentucky, they were just hanging out. But then he had a stroke and fell into the pool.
“He was drowning, but his best friend was able to pull him out and resuscitate him. They realised he had damaged his spine and then there was also fluid build-up on his lungs.
“On Saturday he had another stroke which has affected him. Our focus now is to get him back to breathing on his own so we can bring him home.
“As soon as he can breath by himself we would like to get the repatriation flight, but we will need to fund this ourselves. Because of the medical complications we’re not really sure how much will be needed.”
At the moment, Garreth has trouble with mobility and will need intensive physiotherapy. Throughout his life he has lived an active lifestyle – at one stage even becoming an MMA fighter – while he has taught scuba diving in exotic locations such as the British Virgin Islands and Greece.
Before that, he managed bars and restaurants in the North East, and he attended both Newcastle and Northumbria Universities.
His mum, Heather, is now at his bedside in the US as he is fighting hard, though communication is difficult.
Family, including dad Tony and brother Anthony, are working with GPs to prepare for bringing him home, though they don’t yet know the scale of the medical support he will require when he is repatriated.
Lauren-Lee added: “We are trying to raise funds for his transfer from those who are able to contribute. Every little bit will help in getting my big brother and hero back home with us.”
At this stage, the costs of bringing Garreth home will depend on how much medical care he will require during the flight. The family has so far raised around £5,000 – but they estimate they could need around £80,000 to bring him home.
■ To contribute to the crowdfunding, visit gofundme.com/f/get-garrethhome