An English teacher is now unable to move her legs or use her fingers after she fell 20ft on a Bangkok balcony that had collapsed at an end of term party.
Jill Dodds (47), is originally from Morpeth, but she moved to Thailand six year ago. She tried to capture a photo on the balcony of the December 18 party.
After leaning against a fence that supported it, she fell to the ground.
The family of the victim is appealing to for assistance in bringing her home. They don’t know what her long-term consequences will be. Doctors have said she won’t walk for two years.
The incident also resulted in another person breaking their collarbone.
After falling 20ft from a Thai balcony during an End-of-Term party, a British teacher lost her use of her hands and legs.
The family of the victim is appealing to for assistance in bringing her home. They don’t know what her long-term consequences will be.
Jill was left with two fractured vertebrae. One was broken and one was crushed. She has no mobility in her legs, and her fingers are useless. Jill needs to be taken care of full time.
Jill is currently in desperate need of financial assistance from her family to be able to return to the north-east when she’s able to travel.
Katie Breeze (39), said that she was numb after receiving the news. The situation had been made worse by Jill’s distance.
“I was really paralysed at the beginning, it was unbelievable,” she said. At the moment, we feel completely helpless. Although we have tried to talk with Jill, it is difficult being so far from her.
Katie stated that it was an ending-of-term party throughout the day and they started taking photos at around 2pm.
Jill is currently in the hospital and her family are trying desperately to raise enough money so that she can travel to North-East as soon as possible. Photo of Jill with her mother
‘As they leaned on the fence, the fence gave way, another person fell and broke her collar bone and Jill was seriously hurt. Two of her vertebrae were broken when she fell 20 feet. One of her vertebrae was fractured and one was crushed.
She can’t lift her arms, move from her waist to her feet, and can’t feel her legs.
‘She is incapable of holding anything and must be given food and water. However, she can speak and move her head.
Katie explained that Jill was covered by her health insurance and she could use the ambulance to transport her. She also needed ICU treatment at a private hospital.
But her coverage has now been used up and she has been moved to a government hospital.
She stated that she was currently in a Thai hospital and had been there for approximately a week.
Jill suffered a fractured vertebrae and one of them was crushed, leaving her unable to move her legs or use her fingers.
“She went through an operation that involved the instillation of metal rods to ease some nerve pressure.
They don’t have any information on long-term damages at the moment. It was initially stated that it would take her two years to walk again, but now we don’t really know.
Jill is loved by her friends and colleagues at work. They have visited her in hospital, taken care of her dogs and kept her family informed.
Katie stated that she is in touch with Katie’s friends and colleagues over there who are great. We are waiting for them to tell us everything.
“We were advised that after her surgery she would have to stay in the hospital at least for two weeks, and then she would return home within six weeks. She would then be able to fly again.
Jill was even treated to a Christmas meal by her friends, which helped boost her morale.
Jill is surrounded by friends and colleagues at work who have rallied behind the beloved teacher. They visited her in hospital, and took care of her dogs.
Katie said the family is ‘overwhelmed’ by the support they have received so far with more than £11,000 already raised in just a few days
Katie shared that Katie was very happy to see so many people helping her.
“When she isn’t with her friends she can be alone for hours, unable to do any work for herself. This really gets her down. She was also treated to a wonderful Christmas meal by her friends.
Katie said that she was trying to put things together for her return home, but Covid kept causing it to get pushed back. It was our hope that she would be home to celebrate Easter.
Leigh Hawkes, a friend, created a Go Fund Me page for Jill’s sister Katie and Nicola. The money will go towards paying hospital bills as well as getting Jill home.
Katie said the family is ‘overwhelmed’ by the support they have received so far with more than £11,000 already raised in just a few days .
According to her, “The fundraising page took off on Facebook because people shared it. We’re overwhelmed by the amount of response.
“It was really amazing to see how many people helped us, even strangers. We are grateful for all of the support we have received. Every little bit helps.
“It’s all about the girls in my family. Jill, Jill, our sister Nicola, had three daughters. Jill was the other girl. Jill is also the only one with four nieces. All of us are very close.
“We just take every day as it comes.”
They are raising as much money as possible as the family does not know how much.
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