A private medical evacuation team has been sent for an Irish student in Thailand after a successful online fundraising campaign.
Ciara Twomey (22) from Bantry is a nursing student at the Tralee Institute of Technology. She was on holiday with friends in Thailand last week when she was involved in a crash on a quad bike.
She was brought to hospital and had initial surgery on her eye on Saturday night, during which doctors cleaned the eye and removed pieces of debris. While she didn’t have an infection, doctors’ opinion in Thailand was that she had lost sight in her left eye.
Speaking to Cork’s 96FM on Monday, her brother Nick said: “I spoke to Ciara [on Sunday] and she sounded in a lot of pain and she said it is so hard for her to understand what they are trying to do because they don’t speak English. They are also not giving her enough painkillers.”
He also announced they had started fundraising for Ciara's care abroad. At time of writing, the GoFundMe campaign had raised more than €35,000 of a €75,000 goal, and a separate campaign on Fund & Seek had raised more than €37,000, which meant a private medical team could be sent for Ms Twomey.
A source said: "We have been working 24 hours a day since Saturday, and yesterday we were able to organise a private medical evacuation team to bring her back to Ireland. They're en route to her at the moment. When they arrive they will assess her condition, and as quickly as possible arrange for her to be brought back to Cork."
However, the source added: “We won’t know more until we get her home.”
During the ordeal, the Irish Embassy in Thailand provided consular support.
It is not yet known when Ms Twomey will return to Ireland. After the medical team assess her situation, they will see how well she can travel and decide the best way to get her home.