Portsmouth nurse finally returning home after suffering from kidney failure in Thailand

AFTER months away from her family, a Portsmouth nurse who was stuck ill in Thailand can finally return home.
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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.

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Lauren has since recovered and is due to fly home, with Jasmine Hatton, on January 20.

Lauren Davison was hospitalised in December with kidney failure, but has recovered and is due to fly home soon to the relief of her mum, Andrea. Pictured - Lauren, R, picture with her girlfriend Jasmine Hatton, L. Photo: Andrea Davison.Lauren Davison was hospitalised in December with kidney failure, but has recovered and is due to fly home soon to the relief of her mum, Andrea. Pictured - Lauren, R, picture with her girlfriend Jasmine Hatton, L. Photo: Andrea Davison.
Lauren Davison was hospitalised in December with kidney failure, but has recovered and is due to fly home soon to the relief of her mum, Andrea. Pictured - Lauren, R, picture with her girlfriend Jasmine Hatton, L. Photo: Andrea Davison.

Andrea Davison, Lauren’s mum, said it is a big weight off her shoulders to finally have a return date for her daughter.

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She told The News: ‘I’m very happy, I can’t wait to get her back here.

‘She’s never going out again.’

Lauren contracted kidney failure while on holiday in Thailand, and the medical bills rose to roughly £7,000. Picture: Andrea Davison.Lauren contracted kidney failure while on holiday in Thailand, and the medical bills rose to roughly £7,000. Picture: Andrea Davison.
Lauren contracted kidney failure while on holiday in Thailand, and the medical bills rose to roughly £7,000. Picture: Andrea Davison.

Lauren, 27, went travelling across Thailand in October, before becoming seriously ill on December 3, 2021.

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The 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.

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Ms 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.’

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Fortunately, 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.

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Spending 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

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