Desperate plea to help sick grandfather stranded in the Far East

THE family of a man seriously ill in hospital in the Philippines are appealing for help to get him home safe and well.
Robert Webb in hospital in the PhilippinesRobert Webb in hospital in the Philippines
Robert Webb in hospital in the Philippines

Robert Webb is desperately ill in hospital in Palawan and is unable to speak or move his limbs.

Now the 64-year-old’s family need to raise at least £21,000 to pay for urgent medical treatment as Bob, as most people know him, went to the Philippines without any travel insurance.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Friends and family have already sent out £3,000 to cover his medical fees.

Robert Webb and his son MarkRobert Webb and his son Mark
Robert Webb and his son Mark

Bob, a retired builder from Buckland in Portsmouth, went to the islands in the middle of May to see his wife, Jennifer, whom he married last year.

He went over to help sort out her visa. The trip had been going well until Bob suddenly collapsed while doing some gardening.

Bob was admitted to hospital with pneumonia and a suspected stroke.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He was later diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a serious condition affecting the nervous system.

Robert Webb and his son MarkRobert Webb and his son Mark
Robert Webb and his son Mark

Bob needs an expensive course of treatment that requires 16 jabs a day.

Bob’s son Mark and daughter-in-law Kelly have started a fundraising page and raised more than £1,500 in the last eight days.

A fundraiser is planned at Park Community School in Leigh Park this weekend.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The family have been talking to Bob via a videocam, but he cannot speak back.

Kelly said it was heartbreaking.

‘Every time we speak to him, I have four kids watching and he’s their granddad,’ said Kelly, of Norden Way, Leigh Park.

‘Every time we see him, Mark chokes up.

‘My six-year-old Mason asks “Is grandad home yet?”.

‘When Charlie, my three-year-old, says “hello granddad”, you see Bob’s eyes well up.’

Kelly said Bob had taken travel insurance on two previous trips to the Philippines and no-one knows why he did not do it this time. His wife Jennifer is constantly by his bedside.

The fundraiser takes place between 11am and 3pm on Sunday at Park Community School and there will be tattoo stalls, ice-creams, sweet stalls and fire engines. To donate visit gofundme.com/285qtkk