Ashley Surcombe‘s family is sharing a heartbreaking update.
More than one week after the British influencer was found unconscious in her apartment in Seoul, South Korea, and was subsequently hospitalized in intensive care, she has faced a setback. Ashley’s family told The Independent that while he 29-year-old had been seemingly been making progress and had even been moved to the hospital’s general ward, she subsequently was readmitted to the ICU and placed on a ventilator.
Her sister Kat Surcombe told the outlet in an interview published April 4 that Ashley returned to intensive care April 2 after suffering from a collapsed lung as she battled pneumonia. Since then, she says that her sister has shown “positive signs,” sharing that Ashley’s lung has been re-inflated.
“The doctors have advised that she will remain there for the rest of the week,” Kat, who is in the U.K., explained. “I know she’s in good hands and I have no doubt that she’s fighting with everything she has to come home. But the truth is, I miss her desperately. I just want to hug her and tell her she’s not alone.”
“I’m very protective of my family, and not being able to be by Ashley’s side during what must be the most terrifying experience of her life has been one of the most difficult things I’ve ever faced,” she continued. “I’ve sobbed from the deepest parts of myself, which might sound dramatic, but almost losing my sister was soul-shattering.”
While Kat and her mother, Karen Surcombe, haven’t been able to be by Ashley’s side, their father Nigel Surcombe has been with his daughter since flying to Seoul March 25, one day after she was hospitalized.
As Karen explained, “He’s managing okay but there is a language barrier, but the doctors have been good at explaining what is going on.”
Still, while the Surcombes said the details around what led to Ashley’s initial collapse “remain unclear,” they are mostly just focused on getting the influencer—who had been in Seoul providing travel content for a South Korean company—back home to the U.K.
“It’s not something that was important to us,” Karen, whose older daughter set up a GoFundMe to pay for Ashley’s medical expenses, shared, “as our priority is to get Ashley home but she needs to be cleared fit to fly by doctors, and that could be another two weeks minimum.”
Kat first shared news of Ashley’s health scare by posting a photo of her in a hospital bed.
“I apologise in advance if this photo upsets you, but my sister and my family need your help,” she captioned a photo posted to Ashley’s Instagram March 27. “I’ve created a Go Fund Me on behalf of my parents who have found themselves financially responsible for Ashley’s medial fees and bringing her back home.”
The 33-year-old added, “We as a family just don’t have the means to cover the mounting costs.”
