Israeli motorcyclist fighting for his life in Thailand
By MELANIE LIDMAN
A 26-year-old Jaffa Dalet resident was severely injured in a motorcycle accident in Thailand on Sunday afternoon, and is currently fighting for his life. Ilan Axelerod was riding a motorcycle in an ocean front resort town near Bangkok when he was cut off by another motorcyclist, causing him to lose control and fly off his motorcycle, hitting his head on the wall.“Luckily he was wearing a helmet, but it didn’t really do anything,” said his friend, Yuri Riabov, 31, who witnessed the accident. The ambulance came quickly and Axelerod was brought to a private hospital with severe injuries. Axelerod is still unconscious and on a respirator after undergoing brain surgery last night that lasted for six hours. Thai doctors are giving him a 20 percent chance of survival.“It’s really hard to see him lying on the bed like this,” said Riabov. “I thought it’d be a few months, and then he’d be OK, but now they’re saying that even if he does come back he’ll never return to normal life.” Axelerod was in the middle of a six-month trip to Thailand with four friends from home.Axelerod’s mother is dead and he is not in close contact with his father, though the Israeli embassy in Thailand was able to get in touch with his brother in Israel. “His brother was crying on the phone, he wants to see him in Israel,” said Raibov. “This is never easy, but when it happens on the other side of the world, it’s so much harder.”The Israeli embassy has also worked to get doctors from Hadassah Ein Kerem to advise the Thai doctors on Axelerod’s treatment. “I really want to say a big thank you to the consulate, they’ve really helped us,” said Riabov. “They were on the phone at 2:30 AM with the hospital, and they’re always in touch with us.”Axelerod’s friends are also worried about paying his hospital bill, which has currently reached NIS 37,000.
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