Big donations for Swede Mats Öberg in Thai hospital

Mats Öberg from the little Swedish town Eslöv is, in early August 2016, caught in a hospital in Thailand. His family cannot afford to take him home, and their insurance company, Trygg-Hansa, does not want to help.

55-year-old Mats Öberg from the little town in Sweden called Eslöv is right now critically ill and cared for at a prominent, private hospital in Bangkok. Before his travel to Thailand Mats Öberg went to the health centre in Eslöv because he was coughing and felt feverish. He was given antibiotics by his doctor for a light pneumonia, but not advised to stay home.

When Mats landed in Bangkok he coughed blood and collapsed. He received treatment at the airport and was first taken to a state hospital in the Thai capital after 6-7 hours. His family desperately want to get him back to Sweden, but their insurance company, Trygg-Hansa, does not want to pay for the medical transportation he needs to get home. The reason is that Mats Öberg already was ill and in the need for care before his journey and therefore, according to them, should not have left Sweden in the first place.

Without help from the insurance company Mats Öberg cannot afford to get home or pay the hospital bills. In his condition Mr Öberg would need to be transported back to Sweden with air ambulance, while the hospital bill was rising due to his condition deteriorating.

His three children, Ida, Jonathan and Rasmus, and his ex wife and the children’s mother, Birgitta, has flown to Bangkok to be with him and support him during his time in Bangkok. They started raising money for him on Facebook hoping to get him home safe.

Also local Swedish businesses help raising money. Up until date of publishing the family, along with the local businesses and private persons, have managed to raise the significant amount of over 500 000 SEK, thanks to the public’s support back home.

Among others the table tennis club, where Mats Öberg is a member, is trying to raise money to help him. Therefore, Sunday 7 August 2016 the club made an event to raise more money. They made a table tennis show and sales and made around 60 000 SEK. All the profit from the fundraising was donated directly to the family.

On 9 August, writes Swedish Daily Kvällsposten, the family paid the hospital bills for the first 16 days of care, amounting to over 550 000 SEK.

In a Swedish TV programme a Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative informed that an  individual in a dire situation abroad can as last resort apply for a loan from the Swedish Government and such an application is then considered based on various criteria.