(Updated again) American needs help in Seoul.

I came across this Facebook group this afternoon, for an American in Seoul named Matt Robinson. You may have seen Matt perform with the Seoul City Improv group, and he was teaching in Korea for three years. In short, he needs an operation on his leg or else he faces amputation or worse, and he will be evicted from Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital unless he can raise the necessary ten million won. Some excerpts from the group's FAQ, questions I asked on the wall, actually:

Matt has been battling a blood clot in his leg for several years. Recently, he had surgery on the leg, after which he got gangrene. Because of this, he now needs another surgery, which he was admitted into the hospital for 3 weeks ago but hasn't yet been scheduled for.

. . .

They haven't scheduled the surgery because Matt has no proof of payment. However, he can't leave the hospital because the IV they've had him on for the last 3 weeks is what is keeping him stable. They're only keeping him for another week to finish the medication they have him on now. After that, he gets the boot.

. . .

Since he's on tourist visa, he can't get insurance. The Korean Bureaucracy has cleverly devised a system so that tourists can't have insurance here.

Well, I don't like that last part, both the information and the tone, especially in light of a serious preexisting health condition. Nonetheless if you'd like to help out with a donation, the bank information is as follows:

account #:481-007433-01-011
Bank: IBK / Industrial / 기업은행

We all have our times of need, and it is big of us to help out when we can, so if everyone stops by the convenience store on the way to work tomorrow and donates a little, we can make a huge difference. Additionally, does anybody have recommendation for traveller's insurance, or something that would offer coverage in a case like this? Any insurance that would work in lieu of Korea's national plan?

Update: I didn't get a chance to talk to him this evening, as I was directed by one of the Facebook group's administrators, but there are further updates in the discussion board. Some excerpts:

The reason the medical bill is so high is much more complicated than has been posted. There are basically 2 things going on. Matt initially went into the hospital about 4 weeks ago. He had a serious bacterial infection which required very invasive surgery. The doctors told him that he had about a 50/50 chance of surviving. During the surgery, they had to remove a large portion of flesh. The surgery went fine.

However, Matt has another condition called deep vein thrombosis, for which he is taking medications. Due to complications from either this condition or the medication he was taking, the doctors were unable to follow up the surgery as they should have done. They had to wait for a couple weeks. Since the initial surgery, he has been left with a rather large open sore from where the infected tissue was removed. This is much too large to heal on its own. Because of the time that has elapsed, there is a very serious threat of further infection or even gangrene.

Sometime after the initial surgery, Matt's leg began to swell up. This was probably due to deep vein thrombosis and possibly involves a blood clot in his leg. This leg now appears to be quite a serious problem as well and may require surgery.

So at the moment, he definitely needs plastic surgery to close up the open wound. There is also a strong likelihood that they may need to operate on his leg to remove a blood clot. If he has surgery promptly, he has been told, he should be out of the hospital sometime in June.

. . .

As it stands, his hospital bill is approximately 10 000 000 won (the cashier didn't give me the exact figures). The cost for room fee and food is about 100 000 won per day. This does not include medication, examinations, doctors, taxes? and other poking and prodding fees. Considering that he had major surgery and has been in the hospital for 4 weeks with a lot of post-op care, you can see how the bill has climbed this high.

As the hospital considers the plastic surgery to be elective, and considering the problems Matt has had paying his existing bills, they do not seem to be willing to perform it unless he pays upfront. When he asked, however, they were unable to give him a quote on how much it would cost.

. . .

Matt was not teaching illegally. He recently finished another job and had come back on a tourist visa. He was looking for a new job when he had to go to the hospital. His tourist visa expires towards the end of June.

Second update: There will be an event held at Stompers Rock Spot in Itaewon on Saturday night from 7:00 PM. The EV Boys and Pet Rock will be playing, and donations will be collected.