PHUKET: An appeal has been launched to raise funds to pay for medical expenses for well-known Phuket expat Richard Valentine who remains in hospital care after a hit-and-run road accident in Phuket.
Richard Valentine remains in hospital after a Phuket road accident on Mar 31. Photo: Eleanor Wolff / Weeboon.com
Phuket businessman and active member of the island’s expat community Richard Valentine remains in hospital following a hit-and-run road accident on Mar 31, which left him with multiple injuries including his right leg broken in four spots.
Mr Valentine’s ordeal became public knowledge only on Apr 10, when an urgent appeal for Rh-negative blood was posted on his Facebook page. Neither the Brit himself, nor his friends asked for money at that time.
Yet they have to ask now as hospital bills tend to go beyond the limits of Mr Valentine’s insurance coverage and personal savings.
“I am still confined to a bed in a Thai Government Hospital which offers a great service but is not free like would be the case in my home country of UK. Four operations later, the insurance money has run out and there are a further two operations required, one of which will be tomorrow,” Mr Valentine wrote on Facebook yesterday (Apr 27).
“I am asking for any monetary help that can be given through the money funding link below. In addition to paying for the operations, I am going to need to pay for physiotherapy sessions to see if I can walk properly again and if not what quality of life I can have after that,” he added.
The link provided by Mr Valentine leads to a page on Weboon, a Thai crowdfunding platform allowing people to make donations via SiamPay, including through a credit or a debit card, online banking and LINE Pay.
The page was created by Eleanor Wolff on Apr 27. Ms Wolff today (Apr 28) confirmed that donations can also be sent through Wise.
“If anyone wants to avoid using the crowdfunding site, they can also send directly to me from most countries using https://wise.com/ which has super low fees. My wise account is set up against [email protected]. Good luck with your operation today,” she said in a comment under Mr Valentine’s most recent publication.
“Richard is a well known staple of the Phuket Expat community and his business was hit hard during COVID as he was a key supplier to the hospitality sector. Those who know Richard will attest to his many contributions to the Phuket and Thailand community. It’s time to give back. Please help us raise the money to pay for his surgery so he can return to the fold! Thank you so much in advance,” Ms Wolff wrote in her appeal on Weboon.
