UPDATE
THE Australian man who plunged 18 storeys and lived was recovering in the intensive care unit of a Phuket City hospital on Thursday after a long operation aimed at correcting internal injuries. Doctors say the worst may be over but he will need more surgery.
Original Report
PHUKET: The Australian man who survived an 18-storey plunge in Patong yesterday was being prepared for an operation today for the serious injuries he sustained.
The condition of the 39-year-old man first needs to be stabilised to give him a better chance, doctors on Phuket told Phuketwan today.
At the man's bedside in Vachira Phuket Hospital, Phuket City, six nurses and two doctors were administering care.
The man is conscious and nodded when we told him: ''There's a great team here. When you come out of surgery, there will be Australians to help.''
Whether he jumped or fell yesterday from Patong's Royal Paradise Hotel will not be clear until he is able to give his own account.
However, it's extremely rare for a person to survive a fall from such a great height.
He is a large, heavy man. It appears his fall was broken by roofing two floors above the ground.
The condition of the man remains perilous with doctors needing to operate later today to assess internal damage, especially to his spleen.
Today he was linked up to a monitor as he acknowledged our conversation with bright blues eyes.
His plunge yesterday and the death of a British man who jumped from a broadcast tower at Tourist Police headquarters in Phuket City on November 1 have drawn attention to the mental health of tourists and expat residents.
It appears both men were down on their luck and in need of professional guidance and financial help that could not be found in time.
While Phuket's honorary consuls are equipped to provide advice on some matters, they are not trained psychiatrists. Embassies also are usually not able to provide financial assistance.
A hotline for people suffering from depression has been suggested.
The Phuket expat community appears to have responded to the needs of stray dogs. But Phuket lacks a charity to care for people who fall into problems of this kind.
Relatives or friends of the man are welcome to contact Phuketwan through Comments below for further details about his condition.
I would happily visit him as in my life I have been down on my luck and also earnt very good money and also had experience with being in and out of love.
Posted by Happy Farang on November 14, 2012 11:36