A young dad-of-five has tragically died after a horrific motorbike crash during a dream trip to Thailand.
Jay Bridgehouse was rushed to hospital after a crash between his motorbike and a pick up truck in the early hours of February 26. He had suffered severe injuries including multiple head fractures.
He went into a coma, with his devastated family flying out over 5,000 miles from Stockport to be at his bedside as he fought for his life.
Aged just 32 and despite the best efforts of doctors, Jay lost his life weeks later on March 18. Parents Tracey and Dean say they have been left 'devastated and completely broken' by the tragedy.
Jay had flown out to Thailand for the 'trip of a lifetime' and had been out riding his motorbike with no helmet when he was involved in a crash with a pick up truck. He had forgotten to put the phone down to his girlfriend Naomi moments before the crash, meaning she had to endure hearing it happen in real time.
The dad, from Stockport, quickly underwent emergency surgery. Doctors at the Koh Samui International Hospital expected Jay would wake up within four to six hours following the surgery, but he then slipped into a coma, suffered a further bleed to the brain and caught pneumonia.
Jay, who was relying on a ventilator to stay alive, tragically lost his battle on the evening of March 18, with his devastated family now back in the UK and trying to organise a repatriation flight to bring Jay home for a funeral and for coroners' proceedings.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, mum Tracey and dad Dean said: "He was still in the coma, and then his kidney and liver functions started to decrease. His organs were shutting down and his immune system wasn't strong enough to fight the pneumonia. From then he just rapidly declined. We were all with him by his beside and watched him slip away.
"Jay was such a character. He was life loving, fun loving and family loving. He was a wonderful dad and son and was loved by everybody. He was boisterous and a little mischievous and was always the first to turn up the music at a party. He was always up for a laugh.
"When he was a teenager and out with his mates in Stockport, if he saw me he would always give me a kiss and tell you he loved you in front of all his friends. He would never end a phone call without telling you how much he loved and missed you."
After the collision, CT scans and tests revealed that Jay’s brain function was minimal due to infarctions throughout his brain. His medical bills mounted to over £10,000 but have now been paid in full due to the generosity of more than one thousand people who donated money online.
Jay, who has four children and a step-daughter aged two, six, eight, nine and 13, had flown out to Thailand for a once in a lifetime trip, and was looking for work after falling in love with the south Asian country before the fatal crash. The British Consulate then helped to secure emergency travel documents and passports so Jay's family could fly out to Thailand to be with him during his critical fight for his life.
"His son Teddy said he wished he was Spiderman and had superpowers so he could bring his daddy home. His step-daughter Lily was absolutely hysterical and said there was no way it could be him. Nobody can prepare you for something like this to happen to you" Tracey said.
"After he had passed away we were very busy, having to deal with getting the money cleared for hospital bills, dealing with the police and the embassy, we just didn't know where to start and you never know how to cope with something like that. We are all absolutely devastated and completely broken as a family.
"We have been overwhelmed by all the messages of support and how many people donated to the funding page. We have had so many messages from people we don't even know."
Dad Dean added: "The biggest help we had was from the foreign language liaison team at the hospital because there were language and cultural barriers with the doctors and when asking for information on what was going on. Without them, this would have been insurmountable. We were passengers on a journey where we didn't know the destination, but they held our hand and supported us, they were a godsend."
The latest update to the GoFundMe page announcing Jay's death by his sister Abbie said: "Our hearts are broken and there are no words to describe the pain we are feeling. We know our lives have been changed forever.
"We wish to thank everyone for their very generous donations and kindness during these past few weeks. Your lovely messages of support have helped more than you could know. As a family, we feel that we have had the support of over 1,000 people behind us. Every donation has given us hope.
"Our story will not have the ending we wished for but it is not over until we bring Jay home. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts."
Jay's family had to return to the UK following his death, with post-mortems carried out over in Thailand. The family are still liaising with an international funeral company in the hope of bringing Jay home, with the power of attorney signed over to a lawyer in Thailand as legal proceedings and investigations into the crash continue.
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