A young Co Antrim man who suffered serious injuries in a motorbike accident in Thailand remains in intensive care unit after undergoing a leg amputation.
Ross Davidson, from Carrickfergus, suffered severe leg injuries last Friday in the Pai area when he crashed his scooter.
A former pupil of Carrickfergus Grammar School and graduate of Liverpool John Moores University, the 23-year-old had been working in the Crown Bar in Belfast city centre before he went travelling on November 7.
Mr Davidson's parents, Andrew and Desna, have flown to the country to be with their son.
Following the accident, doctors were forced to amputate his right leg above the knee as a result of his injuries.
While the young man had taken out two insurance policies before leaving on his trip, only one has so far said it may pay out some funds towards the medical bills.
As a result, the Davidson family have been fundraising to raise the outstanding money needed for Ross's recovery.
So far, more than £15,000 has been raised of a £20,000 target on a JustGiving page.
Andrew Davidson yesterday said his son had a " long recovery ahead of him".
"Ross had surgery on Sunday to remove a lot of infection on his leg and the surgeon explained to us that he cut another 10cm of bone as well which was necessary," he said.
"His CT scan yesterday was good as he had a small bleed on his brain which has reduced steadily over 10 days now. His neurosurgeon spoke to me about this yesterday and showed me the scan. He said there are no worries with this now and no need to operate or drain it".
Mr Davidson said the family were "amazed and overwhelmed" with all the help they had received.
"The fundraising effort is just incredible and Desna and I are so grateful for this as Ross will benefit so much from this in the days, weeks and months ahead," he said.
"I know that Ross is so so thankful for every bit of support in all its different guises, and he says he will thank every single person when he has the chance. At the minute though his focus remains on getting stronger every day now and getting home to see everyone".
Donations can be made online at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/helprossdavidson
Meanwhile, a Co Down man who has only a "small chance" of walking again after a serious bike accident in Thailand is to be flown back to Northern Ireland next week to undergo further treatment.
Sait Can Ozdemir, who was born in Turkey but moved to Ballymartin as a child, also suffered a broken wrist, a punctured lung and had fluid on his lungs after he lost control of the bike he was riding and it fell into a ditch.
The 26-year-old laboratory worker rented the bike with two friends on December 6 to explore the Chiang Mai area in northern Thailand.
He was taken to Chiang Mai Ram hospital where spinal surgery revealed he had broken five vertebrae. Doctors then told the young man that as these had damaged his spinal cord, he only has a "small chance" of walking again.
In the aftermath of the accident, Mr Ozdemir's family set up a fundraising page to try and raise the money needed to pay for his recovery and so far, more than £46,000 has been raised.
Mr Ozdemir’s sister, Vicki Kaya last night told The Irish News that her brother is due to leave Thailand on December 28 or 29 to be transported to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
"He is out of the ICU and the doctors are pleased with the progress he is making," she said.
"We would like to thank everyone for their kind donations and support which helped the whole family in dealing with the situation we have found ourselves in.
"When we have Sait Can home and settled we are hoping to have some of the funds we have collected left over, if we do we will be setting up a fund for people who find themselves in a similar situation or donating it to a similar cause. We will be paying this forward as the support we have received has meant so much to us".
Donations to help Sait can be made at www.gofundme.com/get-saitcan-home
