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I read about this poor lad a while back and meant to flag this up, he deserves help to get home, after being such a great volunteer.
Lizx
Appeal to get injured Dan Eley airlifted back to UK
January 12, 2010
FRIENDS from around the world are backing an appeal to airlift a Witley man badly injured in an accident in Colombia back to the UK.
Dan Eley, 32, has worked in Latin America for several years as a frontline charity worker helping street children.
He was on holiday with friends in a remote region of Colombia close to the border with Brazil on New Year’s Day when he had a diving accident that has left him paralysed from the neck down.
It took three days for Mr Eley to be airlifted from a small local hospital to a medical clinic in Bogota, where he could receive the proper treatment.
He suffered two cardiac arrests but is now in a stable condition in intensive care, although he is unable to breathe without a ventilator.
Mr Eley is able to eat some food and has started to whisper and can hear everything that is said to him.
His mother Carolyn, who is a sociology lecturer at the University of Surrey, and his sister Bridget have flown out to be by his side, while his father John will also join them at the weekend.
Mr Eley's insurance does not cover the estimated £90,000 needed to get a specialist air ambulance to fly him to the UK, and friends have launched an online fundraising campaign to try to meet the cost.
Fred Shortland of Casa Alianza, the charity helping street children for which Mr Eley used to work, has set up a dedicated account, the HELP DAN APPEAL, to which anyone can donate.
"Dan applied to join our volunteer scheme in February 2006," Mr Shortland said.
"I interviewed him and I could see he was passionate about doing the work. His first assignment was on the streets, which is the toughest one you could get.
"He excelled. He was an outstanding volunteer and he extended his contract to a year and went on to work with smaller charities in El Salvador."
Godalming resident Di Clift, a close family friend, has also started a Facebook group which now numbers more than 2,000 members.
Tributes have poured in from around the world and the appeal raised £5,000 overnight after it was launched last week.
Mr Eley's stepfather, David Wheatley, said: "When we heard how much money had been raised when the appeal was first launched Carolyn and I both cried.
"We were so overwhelmed by this wonderful feeling all around the world towards him."
To donate,
google his name and find the way to help him,
Lizx
UPDATE Thursday 25th from the Facebook page;
Dan is back in England! He and Carolyn his mother flew back in a specialised air ambulance jet early this week and Dan is now at a top spinal injuries unit. Please keep the love and messages coming!
Isn't this great news - I hope now Dan is home and getting care in the UK he can find the strength to fight back from the accident and get well soon. Amazing that so many people, many of them strangers, got the money together to get this lad home.
Lizx
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Have just looked at the total.....£84,780.31 wow !!!
jude :o)
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Jude, it's amazing isn't it, that people have been so kind to help Dan and now there is almost enough to get him home.
Lizx
found this slightly later report:
Thousands raised at Dan Eley appeal pub night
By Beatrice Phillpotts
January 18, 2010
ACTRESS and wildlife campaigner Virginia McKenna was one of the first guests to arrive at a Dorking pub charity event held in aid of the Dan Eley appeal on Saturday night.
The plight of the 32-year-old charity worker from Witley, near Godalming - who was paralysed from the neck down following a swimming accident in a remote jungle region of Colombia on New Year’s Day - has struck a chord around the world.
It took three days for Mr Eley, who has spent the past few years helping street children in Latin America, to be airlifted from a jungle medical centre to a specialist clinic in Bogota where he remains in intensive care.
His family have been overwhelmed by the generous response to an appeal to raise £90,000 so he can be airlifted to a spinal injuries clinic in the UK as soon as he is strong enough to travel.
The fund stood at £77,000 on Monday, swelled by widespread publicity in the national and international media and the impact of the dedicated HELP DAN Facebook group.
Mr Eley’s uncle and aunt, Rick and Anna Abrehart, are the landlords of The Plough in Coldharbour and they organised a fundraising concert and auction at the pub to help swell the total.
And Mr and Mrs Abrehart said they were deeply touched by the huge amount of support they received for the event, which looks set to raise more than £3,500.
Virginia McKenna OBE, who is founder and trustee of the Born Free Foundation, lives in the village and lent some celebrity support.
The event included a special concert by regular pub singer and keyboard player Andy Duerden with vocal support from his wife Maggie and violinist Bob Loveday, who has worked with the likes of Van Morrison and Bob Geldof.
Pubgoers were asked to pay for song requests and to donate to bucket collections, while money was also raised through evening meals and an auction.
"We had to do something positive to help Dan and this was all we could do," said Mrs Abrehart.
"We are so humbled by the love and support we received and so is Dan and his mum.
"The event went fantastically well and lots of people from the village came.
"One of our neighbours made a magnificent quilt for the auction, which made £125.
"We last saw Dan in June when he came to our home and he bought a couple of friends from Venezuala with him. He is just the most gorgeous boy.
"He has such a lot of compassion for people less well off than himself.
"He has never had a car or any money and never really wanted that kind of thing. His cousins all adore him."
Mr Eley had a successful operation to clear excess mucus from his lungs on Saturday but may need plastic surgery for an extremely bad bedsore that developed at the base of his spine just after the accident.
"It will not be possible to airlift him to the UK in his present condition and it may be some time before he can be moved," said his stepfather David Wheatley.
"Both his mother Carolyn and I are very moved by all the the support both on Facebook and through the appeal and associated events."
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Shows how people rally to a person in distress, hope he will be home soon
Lizx
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Update on first post, Dan is home and in specialist hospital - it must help his recovery to be in his own country again where family and friends can visit and help him.
Just shows how many good people there are in the world to help raise the funds to fly him back.
Lizx
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