Bristol family's plea for help to fly dad home from Bulgaria after fall leaves him in coma
A Bristol builder is fighting for his life in a Bulgarian hospital after a fall while working on his house in the country.
Paul Bond, 61, is believed to have fallen from his balcony and have suffered severe head injuries.
Family friend Rebekah Richardson said his two daughters, Sophie and Abi, are in Bulgaria where Paul is in a coma in hospital and on life support.
The family desperately want to fly him home and a fundraiser as been launched to raise the money needed to get him back to Bristol.
The family told ITV News West Country the fall caused what they believe to be "irreversible head injuries".
Although he is in a coma, Paul's condition is reported to be stable.
His family stressed how Bulgaria have different laws to the UK regarding keeping patients on life support and at this time, whilst in a stable condition could be on life support for an indefinite amount of time.
Rebekah said: “This heartbreaking situation is causing added stress and trauma to the family, not knowing how long they may need to remain in Bulgaria to be by his side when they can be.
“As we don’t know how long Paul will continue to remain in this stable condition, we now feel the best option would be to get Paul home where he belongs and his family can be with their own families receiving support while being able to be by his side.”
A GoFundMe page has a goal of £30,000 to cover the cost of a private air ambulance to fly Paul back to Bristol. She said Paul’s insurance does not cover this cost.
Launched on Monday 17 July, nearly £5,000 has been raised so far. Rebekah said: “We just want to bring Paul home and any donations are incredibly appreciated."