A British influencer fighting for her life in a Seoul hospital after being found unconscious in her apartment has had a “heartbreaking” health setback, and is now on a ventilator.
Ashley Surcombe, 29, was discovered severely dehydrated on her bathroom floor in March.
She has been travelling back and forth between the UK and South Korea for years and was providing travel content for a Korean company. The circumstances surrounding her collapse remain unclear.
Ashley’s mother Karen, who lives in Worcestershire, said her daughter was put in the intensive care unit, where she remained until March 31.
She was then placed on a general ward, which Karen said was a “huge relief”.
However, she was moved back to the ICU on Wednesday when her lung collapsed after she developed severe pneumonia.
Ashley is now on a ventilator.
Her sister Kat Surcombe said there had been “positive” signs in her treatment. Her lung has been re-inflated and doctors had removed “a significant amount” of mucus.
“The doctors have advised that she will remain there for the rest of the week.”
Kat said hearing the news her younger sister was back in the ICU was both “frustrating” and “heartbreaking”.
“I know she’s in good hands and I have no doubt that she’s fighting with everything she has to come home. But the truth is, I miss her desperately. I just want to hug her and tell her she’s not alone,” Kat added.
“I’m very protective of my family, and not being able to be by Ashley’s side during what must be the most terrifying experience of her life has been one of the most difficult things I’ve ever faced.
“I’ve sobbed from the deepest parts of myself, which might sound dramatic, but almost losing my sister was soul-shattering.”
Karen said her husband Nigel, 64, arrived in Seoul close to midnight on March 25 to support his daughter.
“He’s managing ok but there is a language barrier, but the doctors have been good at explaining what is going on,” she added.
“The first week there, she had a platelet transfusion because her white blood cells were very low.
“They have done an X-ray on her and she does have pneumonia and she had an MRI scan and she did have a small bleed on the brain.”
Ashley’s family paid an admission fee to have her admitted to hospital, with her mother not sure of how many more costs will be accrued while her daughter waits until she can safely fly back home.
“What the medical costs moving forward are, we still don’t know as Nigel is waiting for an update,” Karen said.
“It’s not something that was important to us as our priority is to get Ashley home but she needs to be cleared fit to fly by doctors, and that could be another two weeks minimum.”
The family has set up a GoFundMe to help with costs, with more than 30 per cent of the £50,000 target being raised so far.
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