Brit dad unable to speak after holiday hotspot 'assault' and bleed on brain
Speaking for Ashton Jones' family, Angela Roden Shepherd said the dad is slowly regaining his ability to speak at a hospital in Bangkok, but added he isn't yet coherent
A Brit dad has been left hooked up to a machine and fighting for his life after he was allegedly beaten "half to death" with a brain bleed. Ashton Jones, 29, had part of his skull removed in emergency surgery following an alleged assault during a holiday with friends in Thailand that left him unable to talk nearly a month later.
The dad, from Cwmbran, Wales, had flown out to Bangkok with his group on May 30, but disappeared during a night out in the early hours of June 3. His shocked pals had no idea what had happened until he turned up at Chonburi Hospital, where doctors had placed him on life support.
Ashton's friends say he had made a "miraculous recovery" as he remains in hospital care after the incident, but while he is now talking, he is not completely coherent.
Speaking to WalesOnline on behalf of Ashton's family, Angela Roden Shepherd said he is "making very steady progress" with the family set to move him to rehabilitation following his "miraculous improvement" after his dad, Darren, refused a "do not resuscitate" order. She said: '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. 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's family aim to return the dad to Wales in a few weeks, where he will receive further treatment at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport, including an operation to replace a lost part of his skull with the titanium plate.
Angela added that the family, with the help of a British man and Thai woman who are putting up Ashton's father, has also spoken with police in Thailand, who they claim believe Ashton was assaulted.
She said he was "beaten half to death", but added that the family has refrained from speculation as the circumstances surrounding the alleged attack remain unconfirmed. She said: "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 travelled to Thailand without medical insurance, and his family is attempting to pay for the costs with a GoFundMe fundraiser, which has so far raised more than £22,000. Angela said: "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."
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