Welsh dad left unable to speak after alleged attack on holiday
Welsh dad left unable to speak after alleged attack on holiday
Ashton's father Darren was asked if he wanted to put a do not resuscitate order on Ashton just a week ago. Days on he has made a 'miraculous recovery'.
Ashton Jones' family say he is making 'very steady progress' while still in hospital in Thailand following an alleged assault earlier this month
(Image: Angela Roden Shepherd )
A Welsh dad fighting for his life in Thailand after an alleged assault led to a bleed on his brain is making 'very steady progress', his family have said. Ashton Jones, 29, from Cwmbran, flew out to Bangkok on May 30 for a holiday with friends but he disappeared from his friends in the early hours of June 3 and he was later found at Chonburi Hospital on a life support machine.
Ashton, a father of two, then underwent emergency brain surgery during which a large portion of his skull had to be removed.
Almost a month later he remains unable to speak properly and is interacting with his family with eye movements, noises and facial expressions.
Ashton had gone out to Thailand to spend a holiday with friends but within days ended up in hospital on a life support machine
(Image: WALES NEWS SERVICE )
Family friend Angela Roden Shepherd, speaking on behalf of the family, told WalesOnline: 'He's making very steady progress. The next move is to get him back into the rehabilitation place he originally was in before he got a lung infection.
'To put into context just how miraculous a recovery Ashton has made so far, Darren was actually asked if he wanted to put a do not resuscitate order on Ashton just a week ago. Darren said 'absolutely not' and in a few days Ashton had made a miraculous improvement.
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'I spoke to Ashton a couple of days ago. He's talking. He's not coherent but he's able to communicate. He's off the ventilator. He still has to be tube fed and he still has oxygen fed to him, and he still has to be restrained because he's in a lot of pain.'
Ashton Jones with his grandmother Beverley Walker
(Image: WALES NEWS SERVICE )
Ashton's family said the current plan is for him to be in Thailand for around another three weeks before they attempt for him to be brought back to Wales where he will be treated further at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport where he will need to undergo further surgery to replace the part of his skull he has lost with a titanium plate.
Ashton's father Darren has been out in Thailand for three weeks, helped by two locals - one British man and a Thai woman - who have put him up and are helping him with the language barrier as well as giving him lifts to and from the hospital.
'It's been awful but two wonderful people - a Thai lady and a British man - have taken Darren in and helped no end,' Angela explained.
'If it wasn't for them the translation would be completely lost and we wouldn't have a clue what was going on. They saw what happened online and reached out to Darren.
'They're putting him up and taking him back and forth to the hospital. They're feeding him and looking after him. They've been a real godsend. We don't know them from Adam but they're just amazing people.'
Ashton Jones is gravely ill in a Thai hospital
(Image: WALES NEWS SERVICE )
Angela said the family have been speaking with the police in Thailand who they say believe Ashton has been assaulted. 'He has been beaten half to death,' Angela said. 'But we don't know the circumstances around how and why, so we're not going to speculate.
'Ashton is starting to mumble things but it's too incoherent. The chances of catching them are virtually zero and the chances of getting money back to get Ashton home are virtually zero too.'
Ashton had no medical insurance when travelling to Thailand. A fundraiser organised by his family online has so far raised more than £22,000 for his treatment and to get him back to the UK.
Angela added: 'We really need all the help we can get. We're still short of the funds we need to get Ashton back. Any help at all is greatly appreciated.' You can find the fundraising page here.
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