Australian Surfer Mark Richardson Evacuated from Bali to Darwin

Key Points

• Australian surfing legend Mark Richardson is critically ill with internal bleeding in a Bali hospital and needs rare blood donations to stabilize him for transport.

• Pleas were issued on social media for A- or O-negative blood donations to help Richardson, who was admitted 11 days ago.

• Richardson will now be evacuated by LifeFlight from Bali to Darwin for further treatment, made possible after his travel insurance began working with LifeFlight.

Surf legend evacuated from Bali

On September 28th 2023, reports are that critically ill Australian surfer Mark Richardson will be medically evacuated from a hospital in Bali to Darwin, according to an ABC News Australia report.

Richardson, a surfing legend with multiple Australian championships, was admitted 11 days ago to a Denpasar hospital with internal bleeding.

Friends and family issued pleas on social media for rare blood donations to stabilize Richardson for transport, with ABC News reporting, "Richardson was admitted to a hospital in Denpasar, Bali, 11 days ago with internal bleeding. He is suffering internal bleeding and in desperate need of blood transfusions".

However, efforts to transport donated blood proved difficult. "Meanwhile, surfing commentator Terry 'Tappa' Teece described Richardson as 'one of the great' Australian champions", the article states.

Richardson will be airlifted by LifeFlight to Darwin for further treatment. The evacuation was made possible after Richardson's travel insurance began working with LifeFlight, according to the ABC News report. Richardson is expected to arrive in Darwin around 11pm tonight.

Updates

In October 2023, media caught up with Richardson to see how he was doing.

He has recovered and the cause of his illness was infected ulcers.

Richardson did not have travel insurance and friends and family had to raise $50,000 to pay for the medical evacuation

Richardson had told of how he spent three days sick in a Bali hotel thinking he had Bali Belly, before seeking medical treatment which identified he had a life-threatening illness.

Key Takeways

1. Always seek medical advice if you feel unwell in Bali - don’t self-diagnose;

2. Travel insurance that includes medical evacuation is essential for Bali.

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