Sir, My best friend Nathan Perrin had been out in Thailand travelling for around 10 weeks when out of nowhere he started having health problems. We are not sure what caused this, as I had Facetimed him for two hours the day before and everything seemed completely normal; he was having the time of his life. We were alerted of a potential problem by one of his friends that he had met out in Thailand, who texted Nathan's sister. Initially we were unable to contact Nathan for nearly 24 hours and were unaware of his whereabouts. We were all sick with worry, thinking all kinds of things. However, thanks to some quick-thinking from his family who contacted another family member who lives in Thailand, we were able to track him down the next morning to a public hospital in Phuket. He's since been moved to a specialist hospital a few hours from Phuket and I've been told that he is now making good progress and will hopefully be able to fly back to the UK by the end of the month. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like his insurance will be able to cover any of the costs, which have already amounted to thousands of pounds. So together with a group of his friends, we have set-up a Facebook page 'Get Nathan Perrin Home' which raised over £1,000 in the first 24 hours. We have now raised nearly £1,600 off the donations page alone and are putting together a host of fundraising activities to help pay for the hospital fees and for him to fly back to the UK. Daniel Owen, a former work colleague, did a 50-mile sponsored walk around Pembrokeshire on Wednesday, October 15, and is hoping to raise £500. We are also putting on an event in Laugharne Memorial Hall on Saturday, October 25. The event will start at 7 pm, with the entry fee at £5, and will feature five amazing local bands/acts, mostly friends of Nathan, who have all agreed to play at no cost. We have also managed to secure many volunteers to help run the event, three SIA licensed doormen at no cost and The Peppercorn Restaurant and Grill (former employer of Nathan) have agreed to run the bar and food stall at no cost, with all proceeds being donated directly to Nathan's hospital fees. There will be a raffle drawn on the night, featuring a wide range of amazing prizes from local businesses, such as Gravells Narberth, who have donated a £99 service, plus many more! We are hoping to raise at least £2,000 at this event, bringing the total raised to over £4,000, which will cover the hospital fees up until the end of this week. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has donated so generously and everyone else who has helped spread the word and has volunteered to help with the forthcoming events. Nathan really does have a great group of friends! If you are able to donate anything, that would be amazing, and I know his family who have been out in Thailand for the last two weeks are so grateful for everyone's generosity. Donations can be made via PayPal to [email protected]">[email protected]. Nathan is from the Blaenwaun area, but lived with me for a couple of years in Narberth, worked in Narberth and went to college in Pembrokeshire College.

David Burger