Surrey grandmother stranded abroad after brain tumour diagnosis

A 72-year-old Surrey grandmother diagnosed with a brain tumour is stranded overseas and fighting for her life after suffering two cardiac arrests, writes Lucy Packer.

Razia Chowdhury Ali is critically ill in a Bangkok hospital after developing sepsis, having been flown from Bangladesh to Thailand in an air ambulance costing around £40,000.

Her ordeal began in August, when she sought medical advice in the UK after suffering headaches and dizziness. According to her family, she was told her symptoms were caused by toothache and vertigo.

She travelled from her home in Camberley to Bangladesh on September 11 to be with her husband, who has Parkinson's disease, but her condition deteriorated dramatically after she arrived.

Razia was admitted to hospital in Dhaka suffering excruciating pain, with her family claiming they struggled to obtain clear information about her condition. They say she was initially told she was experiencing a psychotic episode and was treated with antidepressants.

Her eldest son, Issac Kahn, flew to Bangladesh and arranged for his mother to be transferred to Evercare Hospital, where the family says doctors diagnosed her with a grade-four brain tumour.

Her family has since launched a fundraising appeal to help cover her mounting medical bills and the cost of transporting her overseas for specialist treatment, having already spent thousands of pounds trying to save her life.

According to the family, doctors in Bangladesh told them Razia could have as little as nine months to live without surgery, which was initially described as a low-risk procedure.

However, her eldest daughter, Zeba Ali, said the family subsequently received conflicting medical advice, leaving them uncertain about how to proceed.

She said they had been given "false hope" and claimed her mother had been "mistreated and disregarded".

The family decided against proceeding with the proposed operation while seeking further medical opinions.

After three weeks in hospital, they faced a bill of around £8,000, with Razia still in need of specialist treatment.

The family initially explored bringing her back to the UK, but were quoted more than £100,000 for a medical flight, a sum they could not afford.

They instead arranged for her to be taken to Bangkok, where they hoped she could receive the specialist treatment she urgently needed.

However, an attempt to transport her on a commercial flight failed when she was denied boarding, leaving the family facing the additional expense of an air ambulance.

Zeba launched a GoFundMe appeal to help meet the costs, while family members took emergency leave from work and used much of their savings to support their mother.

Razia has since arrived in Bangkok, but her condition has deteriorated further.

According to her family, she has developed sepsis and suffered two cardiac arrests, leaving her dependent on a ventilator.

Doctors have advised that further treatment must wait until her condition stabilises.

Other family members are expected to travel to Thailand over the weekend to be at her bedside.

The fundraising appeal, which has a target of £30,000, has attracted more than 200 donations, with supporters contributing thousands of pounds towards the family's mounting expenses.

Zeba, who is also raising a young child, said she had been overwhelmed by the generosity of strangers.

"I'm really overwhelmed, I didn't expect this many people to donate at all," she said.

The family is continuing to raise money towards the cost of Razia's emergency transport and medical treatment as they face an anxious wait for news of her condition.

Zeba thanked everyone who had donated or shared the appeal, with the family hoping Razia will recover sufficiently to receive further treatment and eventually return home.