Family issue desperate plea to help bring home critically ill Rochdale dad stuck in Philippines

The family of a Rochdale dad stuck in the Philippines and urgently in need of medical attention have issued a desperate appeal to bring him home.

Reece Jones, 26, says father Nicholas was rushed to hospital with liver cirrhosis while on holiday in Calapan. He says the 56-year-old has been placed on a ventilating incubator for breathing and oxygen, but his condition is 'deteriorating', and he desperately needs to return to the UK for a liver transplant.

Nicholas' care in the Philippines is costing the family nearly £500 per day, and they estimate they have racked up a bill of around £8,000 over several weeks. They are pleading to the public to help them fund his treatment and travel home, saying the longer he stays abroad, the 'worse' his situation gets.

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Reece flew out with partner Ella and son Jonny as soon as Nicholas was admitted to hospital. He said he 'cannot put into words' what the family have been doing 'on a minute by minute basis' to help.

"We have slept about 15 hours in nearly two weeks," he said. "We are stuck in a public hospital where the prices for the care for a foreigner are extremely expensive.

"We have been stuck over here for a couple of weeks and begging for help to get him home urgently. Air ambulances are so expensive and as he is not insured we cannot afford this."

Ella has set up a GoFundMe to help raise funds to bring Nicholas home. The family have so far raised over £5,000, but the cost of further treatment and an air ambulance back to the UK is likely to add up to thousands more.

Reece, who sadly has also lost his