Ashley Surcombe, 29, was found unconscious on the floor of her flat in Seoul, South Korea, with severe organ failure and a black eye, and her family are now facing huge medical bills
A British influencer is battling for her life in a hospital 5,000 miles from home after being discovered unconscious in her flat. Ashley Surcombe, 29, was found by police who were forced to break into her apartment in Seoul, South Korea.
Her concerned parents Karen and Nigel had alerted them through a friend when she failed to respond to messages and calls. Ashley, originally from Evesham, Worcestershire, has been living in South Korea for the past five years, but her father has flown thousands of miles to be by his daughter’s side. Police made the discovery after a family friend contacted the police on their behalf. The 29-year-old was found unconscious on the bathroom floor, and had suffered severe organ failure and a black eye.
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Ashley, who has over 465,000 followers on Instagram, lives alone in the flat, and there were no signs of forced entry, reported the Daily Star. Kat Surcombe, 33, Ashley’s sister, said: “About a week ago she told us she hit her head against the door and got a nasty bruise on her eye. Her blood sugar levels are very low and when we spoke with her on Saturday, she seemed confused, and you could barely see her lips she was so dehydrated.”
Kat mentioned that she was supposed to chat with her sister at 8pm local time on Sunday, but she never picked up. Ashley, who is fluent in Korean, had plans to travel across the country and Southeast Asia and share her experiences online.
There is currently no indication of when Ashley will be discharged, and her parents have been left with mounting hospital bills, as her insurance has expired. Her sister Kat stated that the daily cost of an ICU stay is £1,500, which will decrease to £500 once Ashley’s condition stabilises.
Additionally, the family has had to cover the costs of X-rays, blood tests, and scans, amounting to over £1,000. Ashley’s parents have already handed over a £3,000 deposit for her initial treatment.
A repatriation flight once she is stable enough to be brought back to the UK is also expected to cost thousands of pounds. Ashley’s family have set up a GoFundMe page to help them pay the costs, and have currently raised around £6,200 of a £50,000 target.
In an appeal on the page, her sister Kat wrote: “My parents have recently retired, and as a family, we don’t have an abundance of money to cover these unexpected and overwhelming costs. If you’re able to donate—no matter how small—it would mean the world to us. If you’re unable to donate, please share this fundraiser to help spread the word.”
The Mirror has contacted the Foreign Office for comment
