Police say Daniel, 21, originally from Australia but living, like his parents, in Phuket, was involved in a motorbike accident but he and his family and friends say the mysterious circumstances point more to a severe beating than a bike crash (see earlier story here).
Mrs Ketley said the family had been overwhelmed by support the story has attracted. As of Thursday evening, around B130,000 had been raised by supporters and paid into a Paypal account. Daniel was covered by health insurance but this has since been maxed out by his medical treatment.
“I’m astonished and I’m really so thankful. The money that has been raised will at least be able to pay for his face reconstruction and for the MRI scan that he needed to get done.
“The school where I used to teach, HeadStart, has started a collection fund in their foyer. Friends of Daniel’s in Italy are collecting money, and we have had a lot of support from Australia, from Thailand, and from around the world.
“If we didn’t have that support I don’t know what we would have done, and where we would have got the money from. We have family savings but once that is gone we are dry.
Daniel was left with a fractured skull which required 45 stitches, haemorrhaging and compression on the brain, air bubbles in the brain, a shattered eye socket, jaw broken in three places, four lost teeth, a fractured vertebra, nerve damage to his neck and shoulder, and a fracture in the skull between his nose and upper lip, after family say he was bashed in the Soi Saiyuan area in the early hours of June 8.
He was initially in Vachira Phuket Hospital but was discharged after six days to recover at home. Yesterday (June 21) he was admitted to Bangkok Hospital Phuket for brain scans.
Speaking to The Phuket News this morning, Daniel’s mother Debbie said the plate in her son’s jaw needed to be adjusted because of the constant movement in his mouth from the broken bones and loose teeth. He was booked in for surgery today at 3pm.
The brain scans showed air bubbles in Daniel’s brain have disappeared, but he still cannot move his right arm. The neurologist assistant believes this is from his spinal injury, rather than nerve damage, Mrs Ketley said.
“As for permanent damage, the doctors don’t know. It all depends on how the area heals on its own.
“Today he will have the operation and I’m hoping to get him home by tomorrow. There is nothing more they can do for him here (at the hospital) until that time frame has lapsed.
“In six to eight weeks we should know the extent of the damage, his movement ability and what operations and treatment he needs. Not even the doctors can tell, it’s just time.”
“Thailand is apparently the talk of Australia. I’m glad it is happening. I love Thailand and I hope to keep making this my home, but people need to be careful. If this is the way to make them aware of it then so be it.”
She described the online response to The Phuket News’ initial story, now with more than 4,000 Facebook shares, as “phenomenal”.
Mrs Ketley, who runs a homeschooling business in Rawai, has since handed it over to a friend. “I have to be [with Daniel] 100 per cent. I’ve given it up temporarily until Daniel starts to regain some mobility and independence.”
Daniel’s father Steve has recently returned from teaching in Kurdistan, and is now looking for employment, in between caring for Daniel during the night.
Mrs Ketley said Daniel was doing “amazingly” well.
“He doesn’t complain, and I can’t believe how well he’s coping. He’s gone from an active sportsperson training twice a day and being independent, to all of a sudden lying in bed being completely dependent.
“We believe he’s strong enough and determined enough to get himself back on his feet. Whatever the outcome is, he will deal with it.
“I don’t want people to be afraid to come to Thailand, but I would like the Government to take some action.”
The Daniel Ketley Fund Facebook page can be found here.