World Desk : dhakamirror.com
A young man from Queensland is fighting for his life after accidentally ingesting rat poison in Taiwan.
A sick Australian student will be flown home from Taiwan for specialist medical care after apparently ingesting what is believed to be rat poison.
Alex Shorey, 24, was on university exchange in the island’s capital Taipei when he fell seriously ill several weeks ago.
It is believed he may have inadvertently ingested food contaminated with superwarfarin, according to an online fundraiser set up by his aunt Elizabeth Shorey-Kitson.
She said he suffered haemorrhaging and a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction to treatment in hospital, so the family want him back in Australia for further care.
On Saturday Shorey-Kitson said a medical charter flight had been secured after raising more than AU$200,000 (NZ$214,000) through donations.
She said the family was humbled by the support of donors and cried tears of joy.
“The flight is booked, the specialist medical team is on deck, and Alex will soon be on his way home to receive the ongoing care he needs,” she wrote.
“From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you.”
She said any funds left over will be donated to Medical Rescue, the company responsible for the charter.
A message from Alex’s mother Julie said it was amazing her son could finally be taken home after his deteriorating condition meant he was unable to board three other flights to Australia over the past few weeks.
University of Queensland vice-chancellor Deborah Terry said it was in touch with the Shorey family and had offered support.
