British Influencer in ICU After Being Found ‘Unresponsive’ in South Korean Apartment

According to an Instagram post shared by Ashley Surcombe’s sister Kat, Ashley is being treated at a Seoul-area hospital after she was found “unconscious and unresponsive” in her apartment Monday.

A GoFundMe for her medical expenses has been set up, and states that she was hospitalized in the ICU with “severe dehydration and multiple organ damage.”

“We don’t yet know the full extent of the damage, but we do know it’s serious,” Kat said via the fundraiser page.

Additionally, Kat claimed her sister’s health insurance has recently expired, meaning that her family will be required to pay for her medical costs out-of-pocket.

“I’ve created a Go Fund Me on behalf of my parents who have found themselves financially responsible for Ashley’s medical fees and bringing her back home,” Kat wrote via Instagram, noting that she is expected to be in the hospital for a “couple weeks.”

“We as a family just don’t have the means to cover the mounting costs,” she added.

Kat also spoke to the U.K. publication The Times, where she further detailed the severity of her family’s situation. “I go between crying and trying to help my parents out. It’s just really difficult because she’s my baby sister and I just want her home,” the 33-year-old told the outlet.

Per The Times, Ashley had been living in Seoul for five years. Her parents last spoke to their daughter Saturday, when she reportedly complained about feeling unwell and appeared both dehydrated and confused.

When Ashley then did not respond to the family’s calls the following evening, they attempted to reach her through friends and contacts in Seoul, before eventually alerting the police.

According to the British outlet, after gaining entry into her apartment, the police found Ashley, who boasts more than 400,000 followers on Instagram, unconscious on her bathroom floor with a black eye.

On Friday, Kat updated the GoFundMe page, sharing some optimistic news via the social media personality’s father, who flew to Seoul to help care for his daughter.

“She’s improving and will spend the rest of the week in ICU, [and] providing she continues to improve she’ll be moved to the general ward on Monday,” Kat wrote. “Ashley will continue to receive medical care, but being in the general ward will allow my dad to live in the hospital with her and be her 24/7 carer.”

Per the latest update, it could still be “another week or two before Ashley is well enough to be brought home.”

As for the “estimated costs” Ashley’s incurred since being admitted to the hospital, it’s been £1,500 — or nearly $1,940 US dollars — per day for her stay in the ICU, and an additional £500 per day after she was transferred to general hospital care, once she became stable.

Tests and scans, Kat said, could end up totaling at over £1,000, while Ashley’s medication and treatment costs would be “ongoing and unpredictable.”

Their parents have already put up £3,000 in a deposit, Kat noted, but the uncertainty of the situation means costs could escalate.

“My parents have recently retired, and as a family, we don’t have an abundance of money to cover these unexpected and overwhelming costs,” Kat added. “We have no idea how long Ashley will need care. Once she’s stable, we also need to arrange a flight to bring her back home to the UK, which could cost £1,000+.”

While the GoFundMe page has a target of £50,000 — or nearly $65K US — as of Friday afternoon, the family had raised just over £17,000 for her care.