When Matthew Gay hurt himself in a motorbike accident in Thailand last year, he phoned his mother to tell her he'd been discharged from hospital and was fine.
A week later, he was dead.
The 35-year-old was spending a year studying and travelling in Thailand.
But after a minor motorbike accident in Chiang Rai, he was admitted to hospital overnight.
"He was supposed to go back and get a gash on his leg cleaned but he left it and it turned infectious," said his mother, Susan.
"We are not 100 per cent sure but I've spoken to a doctor here who said it sounded like blood poisoning."
Fortunately, he had taken out travel insurance, which helped take the financial pressure off the family.
His medical expenses, the cost of repatriating his body back to New Zealand and some of the funeral costs were covered.
Minor injury turns fatal
Mathew Gay and his mother, Susan. Photo / Supplied
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