Family needs $80k to fly dad home after suffering severe stroke in WA that left him paralysed

After a Queensland father suffered a significant stroke that left him with 47 per cent brain damage, his family is trying to raise the $80,000 needed to get him a care flight home.

A Logan family are trying to raise up to $80,000 to get their father on a care flight home after he suffered a significant stroke that rendered him partially paralysed while he was interstate.

A month ago, Terry Phillips, 53, from Boronia Heights, suffered two strokes while in Western Australia for FIFO work, the second of which left him with 47 per cent brain damage and paralysed on the entire left side of his body.

For his daughter, Tiffany Lennon, it is now about getting him home to his family in Queensland, where he can have all the support he needs during his recovery.

“Every time I speak to Dad, he asks if I have a plan to get him back home. His whole family is here, if we can get him home we can start his recovery right away,” she said.

The family were given two options to get him home, either a care flight that would have an out-of-pocket cost of $50,000 to $80,000, or wait until he’s cleared for a commercial flight which doctors estimated could take up to 12 months.

“We were in shock, I was completely gobsmacked. We have money saved but we’re a small family,” Ms Lennon said.

Terry’s wife Sarah flew over immediately to be with him, but Ms Lennon said her stepmother had to give up her job so she could stay in Perth indefinitely.

“She’s living in a motel at the moment which is just another out of pocket expense for them,” she said.

Terry Phillips’ family are now trying to raise $80,000 to get him home. Picture: Supplied

Since the incident, the family have spent the past month trying to organise an interim power of attorney to release funds from his super to help cover costs, but they’re aware the expenses will continue to add up when he returns home.

“Organising the early super release has been a nightmare,” she said.

“But there’ll be more costs so we have to be careful. What will happen when they get back and he has to buy a new wheelchair or redevelop the bathroom for accessibility?” she said.

Despite being in Western Australia for work, Terry’s incident happened during his lay over in Perth as he was heading home, meaning there wouldn’t be any work cover for costs either.

After more than three decades as a machinist, it was Terry’s first shift in his new job as a trade assistant at the mines.

“He’d only done one shift and he was so excited to be through all the processes. There’s rigorous testing and weeks of orientation... But he’d only been on site once,” Ms Lennon said.

“It was his first swing there, he was just so happy to finally be doing something different.”

Terry Phillips and his grandchild. Picture: Supplied.

Ms Lennon says the most heartbreaking part of it all, is that her father was yet to understand the full extent of his injuries as doctors work to protect his mental wellbeing.

“They’re giving him little bits at a time. He was this totally independent man who’s now been declared permanently paralysed and medically retired so he’ll never be able to work again,” Ms Lennon said.

“To go from a fully functioning human to paralysed overnight is pretty shocking.”

The family have started a GoFundMe in hopes of raising the needed funds, with donations already reaching over $5000 as of Monday morning.