A Napier man who's fighting for his life in Fiji desperately needs $27k to bring him home. Photo / Supplied
A Napier man who's fighting for his life in Fiji desperately needs $27k to bring him home. Photo / Supplied
More than $30,000 has been raised to bring a severely-ill Hawke's Bay father, who is fighting for his life in a Fijian hospital, back to New Zealand.
Jarred Thompson thought his life was finally on track after a tough year - he was in remission after being diagnosed with testicular cancer on November 23, 2017.
Thompson's Fiji trip with close friend Thomas Brook had been postponed for a year after the 27-year-old's cancer diagnosis.
Part of the planned one-month holiday was attending the Three Angels Missionary College, in hopes he would learn how to improve his health through nutrition.
But on Thursday, Thompson was admitted to Lautoka Hospital after what started as a headache quickly turned into a "potentially life-threatening condition".
Jarred Thompson (second left) and his friend Thomas Brook (right) in a Fiji village before Thompson fell ill. Photo / Supplied.
After several days of watching Thompson slowly deteriorate, Brook made the decision to bring him back to New Zealand - booking flights and driving to a hotel opposite the airport on Wednesday night.
He set up a Givealittle page for Thompson and as of this afternoon, around $20,000 of the $27,000 target had been raised to bring him home.
However, as of 8pm, donations to help bring the father home had exceeded the goal by over $3000 and the total sits at $30,169.
Jarred Thompson with six-year-old daughter, Maddison. Photo / Supplied
Brook new his friend was in trouble and Thompson was unresponsive on Thursday.
"He couldn't walk, he couldn't open his eyes and he was ill ... I knew I couldn't get him on a plane, so I rushed him to the hospital straight away, which was exactly what I was trying to avoid but I was left with no choice," Brook said through tears.
"At that stage we just needed to seek him immediate help."
Brook said the treatment in Fiji was inadequate for what Thompson needed.
"They say palliative care is what they recommend, but they also recommend getting him home as we might have something more."
A medical evacuation team has been organised to get him home because he requires more tests in New Zealand."Jarred is suffering from pressure on his brain ... He can hear me, but cannot respond," Brook said.
"It must be torture. He constantly kicks and taps to let us know he's still here."
The first window to take him off the Island was on Saturday, but with insufficient funds, their next hope will be on Tuesday.
Brook fears that if they wait any longer than Tuesday, they will be "looking at a different form of transport all together".
Brook said he had known Thompson for nine years and over the past year has been his caregiver.
