Fundraising event after Ben contracted rare flesh-eating bug

Fundraising event after Ben contracted rare flesh-eating bug

10 February 2016

A FUNDRAISER is being held for a Carryduff man recovering from a rare flesh-eating disease.

The cost of emergency treatment for Ben Whiteside (25) is still to be paid off after he contracted necrotising fascilitis while on holiday in Asia last December.

The disease can kill within hours or days if left untreated. It is unclear how Ben became infected but the injury from the disease and the surgery to remove it has seen substantial.

A total of £24,500 has already been raised but friends want to make a £30,000 target and have so far only covered around half the total medical bills.

A fundraising event at the Ivanhoe Hotel in Carryduff on Friday will feature live music from Rab McCullough and friends, with games, dancers and DJs playing throughout the night.

Ben had been spending a month in China and had moved on to Laos in November with his girlfriend Anneka Shally when he noticed a scratch on his leg had transformed into a swollen, infected wound.

The hospital in Laos was not equipped to deal with the diagnosis so he was immediately airlifted to Bangkok where he underwent emergency surgery.

Ben returned home before Christmas where he had several skin graft operations at the Ulster Hospital.

Ms Shally said: “As this was a life or death situation, not airlifting Ben to Bangkok to have the treatment due to the expense was simply out of the question.

“The treatment has so far all been paid on credit, so I have started this campaign in the hopes of relieving Ben and his family from some of the financial burden that this situation has inflicted on them, and to avoid the already significant cost skyrocketing more due to interest rates.”

In a post on GoFundMe, she thanked all those who had donated and said what had been achieved so far had been an “amazing feat”.

“Ben has since been improving day by day,” she said. “We have all been really impressed with the speed at which he has regained mobility, he is flying around on his crutches now.”

Tickets for the fundraising event at the Ivanhoe cost £10 and can be purchased on the night.