Renewed appeal to bring ill Gosport woman home after tragic Thailand crash

Rose Weatherill lost both her husband Arthur, 81 and son, David, 54, after a head-on collision with a truck in Surat Thani, south Thailand in April earlier this year.

The 79-year-old, who lives in Gosport, was left in a very serious condition in Banghok Hospital, Phuket, where she still remains and has a family friend and David’s wife, Jeedy, watching over her.

Rose’s condition appears to be improving but funds to maintain her care at the hospital are drying out.

Steve Underwood, a long-time friend of David’s, set up a fundraising appeal in May to raise thousands to support Rose’s care and hopefully get her home,

He said: ‘She is much better than she was before and the plan at the moment is to try and get her out of hospital and home as soon as we can.’

Rose had been visiting David, who used to live in Havant before moving to Thailand back in 2011.

The horrific accident happened on April 21.

Her injuries were serious from the onset of the crash, including a broken pelvis, fractured ribs and spine, chest compression and head trauma.

She has also been through operations to remove bed sores and was given a tracheotomy to assist her breathing, though she is struggling to speak and does not speak Thai so language is likely to be a barrier when Rose communicates her wishes.

To communicate, she nods and uses her hands.

The funds are used to pay for a carer, called Jit, who is at her bedside every day and has been visited by the British Embassy.

Steve added: ‘We are getting positive messages about her recovery now.

‘This just re-emphasises the fact that we want to bring her home.

‘We are now running out of funds and so would be incredibly grateful for any more help.

‘Everybody knows that if you can get an ill person home, surrounded by their friends, family and to have the care of a physio would make a great deal of difference.’

More than £2,000 has been raised for Steve’s appeal since it was launched on JustGiving and the 54-year-old has looked to raise other funds through selling cakes.

He added: ‘The last of the funds is going out this month so we are cleaned out.’

Friends of the family previously held a memorial evening for Dave and Arthur at The Wickham Arms in Chichester in June.

To donate to the appeal, head to justgiving.com/crowdfunding/steve-underwood.