This Camden doctor spent eight years dedicating his life to helping others, but now he needs the community’s support after a road accident left him fighting for his life more than 5,000 miles away from home.
Dr Sebastian Kola-Bankole, 35, from Camden, is lying in a US hospital bed in an induced coma after he was hit by a lorry in Las Vegas on February 15.
The accident left him critically injured, and he has already had several emergency operations.
His family and friends have now launched a fundraising campaign to bring him back to the UK for treatment.
But his family, who are reported to be by his bedside, are now faced with paying for his escalating medical bills as they cannot find any evidence that he took out medical insurance.
His treatment, on top of his trip back to the UK on a specialist medical flight, is expected to cost in the region of £250,000.
As a result, his loved ones have launched an online fundraising campaign to bring him back to the UK and continue his recovery at a London hospital.
They have so far raised more than £75,000 in just two days.
In a statement on the crowdfunding campaign page, his family and friends wrote: “Despite always previously travelling with insurance, we are unable to find documents for this trip.
“He has no other resources to pay for his treatment - the cost of which will be well over £100,000. We hope that he will return to the UK as soon as is medically possible, however this may take some time.
“We, his friends and family, are trying to raise the money for the continuation of his treatment and relocation to the UK.”
Dr Kola-Bankole is thought to have been hit outside the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The doctor, who works for the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, was in the US for a friend’s wedding.
The road accident is being investigated by Las Vegas police.
He is currently in intensive care at the Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas.
It will be at least two weeks before he can possibly be moved.
Dr Kola-Bankole was recently based in the infectious diseases department of the Royal London Hospital.
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