Portsmouth nurse finally returning home after suffering from kidney failure in Thailand
and live on Freeview channel 276
Lauren Davison, who works at Queen Alexandra Hospital, suffered from kidney failure while on the holiday of a lifetime with her girlfriend.
In a desperate plea for help, her family set up a GoFundMe page to cope with the mounting medical bills.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdLauren has since recovered and is due to fly home, with Jasmine Hatton, on January 20.
Andrea Davison, Lauren’s mum, said it is a big weight off her shoulders to finally have a return date for her daughter.
She told The News: ‘I’m very happy, I can’t wait to get her back here.
‘She’s never going out again.’
Lauren, 27, went travelling across Thailand in October, before becoming seriously ill on December 3, 2021.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe dream holiday she had worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic for then took a turn for the worst.
Serious symptoms, including intense stomach pain, diarrhoea, vomiting and a high temperature, lead to a lengthy stay at a hospital in Pattaya.
So severe was her illness that she suffered from kidney failure and was put on a dialysis machine.
Andrea said the doctors treating her thought Lauren caught e-coli, which caused the problem.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdMs Davison said her daughter had to discharge herself just before Christmas, as the medical bills were too high.
She added: ‘Lauren stayed in the hospital for as long as she could, but funds ran out.
‘She lived near the hospital just in case, and the doctors gave her medication to take with her.
‘I thought it was a bit unfair to keep taking the money when she wasn’t in hospital, but we raised over £2,000 which was a big help.’
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdFortunately, Lauren responded well to the dialysis treatment and has recovered.
She passed her ‘fit to fly’ examination, finally allowing her to go home.
Ms Davison estimates the total cost of the treatment was £7,000.
She added the family had to ‘beg and borrow’ to cover some of the costs, but the most important thing for her was to hear Lauren would be coming home.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdSpending Christmas without her daughter was a big loss for Ms Davison and the family.
To make up for it, Ms Davison has already made plans for when her daughter returns.
She said: ‘We’ll probably have another Christmas dinner and open some presents.
‘It was a massive relief to hear that she’ll be coming home soon.
‘She’ll be back where I can keep an eye on her.’
A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron
Subscribe here for unlimited access to all our coverage, including Pompey, for just 26p a day.
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.