THE friends and family of a man in a life-threatening condition in the Philippines are making a final push to get him home after being told he may just be days away from death.

Jason Smith, 51, was taken to St Paul’s Hospital, Iloilo, in a critical condition after he and his wife were involved in a serious motorcycle accident in Kalibo earlier this month.

Both suffered severe injuries, but Jason also had kidney failure and was later put on a mechanical ventilator.

Initially, Jason, who grew up on Canvey, had life-saving surgery on his leg, but is in desperate need of further surgery after both his feet and one leg have turned black with infection.

After already spending £30,000 on treatment the family are desperate for him to return home for further surgery, but have been told an air ambulance would cost £130,000.

Linda King, whose son is best friends with Jason, said: “We need him home, he needs to be with his family at a time like this, and he needs medical treatment here.

“They are doing their best for him out there, but the treatment isn’t the same, they don’t have the capabilities. They can fly him home in an air ambulance, but it will cost him £130,000.

“We don’t have that kind of money, I don’t think anyone does, and it is too much to ask for from the public who have already been so generous.”

With thousands of pounds donated already, Linda is now considering putting her house on the market to fund the journey home.

She said: “We are considering selling our house because we just don’t know what to do, we are looking at loans too but we need the money soon. They have taken him off the ventilation now, which is a good sign.

“But we don’t want him operated on again out there, we need him home.

“At the moment it looks like he has frost bite or gangrene in his leg.

“It is costing £800 daily just to keep him in the hospital.

“His legs have been operated on but the wounds have been left open, he looks like a butchered piece of meat. Slightly unimpressed with his treatment so far, the family are desperate to get him home for the final surgeries.

Linda added: “We are not impressed really. But when they ask for money you have to pay, we couldn’t say no or he would be dead.

“We showed a surgeon in this country the pictures of his legs, and she said he needs to be back in this country straight away.

“Even if we get him back, he may still lose his legs.”

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