Hundreds of donations from across the country have finally brought a young Orkney man home from Thailand after he suffered a potentially fatal brain aneurism.
A huge fundraising effort – which now totals more than £29,000 – will allow 24-year-old Owen Auskerry to fly into Kirkwall this afternoon.
The Press and Journal revealed last month that he had been taken to hospital in Bangkok after a blood vessel burst in his brain.
Mr Auskerry, who was teaching English in Thailand, has since undergone brain surgery and has been recovering in the Thai capital.
He is still struggling to speak, read and write – and has not yet been able to read hundreds of messages from wellwishers on social media.
After his medical emergency on January 13, donors rallied around to raise funds to help pay for Mr Auskerry’s medical bills and ultimately bring him home to the UK.
Mr Auskerry’s parents, Teresa Probert and Simon Brogan, flew from the UK to Thailand to be by his side, while brothers Rory and Hamish Auskerry joined them later.
Yesterday, Rory Auskerry said: “He’s in the air at the moment. They left Bangkok roughly 6am our time and they are direct to Heathrow.
“The original plan was to fly from Heathrow to Edinburgh and have night in Edinburgh before flying up to Orkney, but the flight was delayed by three hours so they missed the connection.
“They will probably get back to Orkney now sometime tomorrow afternoon.
“He was doing a lot better, certainly, before he left Bangkok. I would imagine the flight would have taken a lot out of him and mum.
“Dad, who was there with mum the whole time, has made his own arrangements to get back on his own flight.
“I spoke to them both last night but I haven’t been able to get in contact with them today.”
The family are the sole residents of the Orkney island of Auskerry three miles south of Stronsay, with the brothers taking the name of the island.
On the specially-created “Together for Owen” website, Ms Probert said earlier: “I’m not looking forward to the change in temperature but can’t wait to get Owen home and he is excited.”