The Aussie tourist who was medically evacuated to Australia after falling into a coma during a holiday in Thailand has tragically died.
New South Wales woman Kylee Enwright was vacationing in Thailand when she fell face-first onto a footpath after she mistook a 50cm-high timber walkway for stairs. The accident left the tourist in a coma and her travel insurer refused to cover her medical expenses, alleging the injuries were caused by intoxication. Thanks to kind GoFundMe donations, Kylee was able to be medically evacuated back home to Australia.
On Tuesday, Kylee’s husband Paul Enrwight — who helped rally donations and media coverage on her condition — announced she died.
“It is with the greatest sadness and heaviest heart that I would like to inform you all of the sudden passing of Kylee Enwright today, Tuesday August 15th 2023 at 9:58am,” the Facebook post reads.
“Kylee passed away peacefully surrounded by her loved ones.”
According to the post, Kylee passed away due to a second brain bleed that was described as “catastrophic” and “insurvivable”.
“Until this point Kylee had been making amazing progress from her initial brain injury suffered in Thailand on May 28th 2023,” the post continues.
The post ends with a touching reflection on his wife’s character, including her kindness and selflessness.
“Grandmother to Aurora and Leo, and Mother in Law to Ellie and Xander. Kylee was one of the kindest, most generous people I have had the privilege to know,” Paul wrote.
“Thanks to Kylee’s selflessness and generosity, through organ donation there will be up to eight people that will receive a second chance at life and her spirit will live on a while longer through them.
“Kylee, Rest in Peace my darling until we meet again. I love you.”
Kylee’s accident made headlines after her insurer, Cover-More, refused to cover her piling medical bills due to an alcohol clause. The insurance compay reportedly made the decision due to CCTV footage of Kylee’s fall as well as the couple’s bar tabs.
According to The Newcastle News, Paul admitted to not reading the fine print, which would see the couple lose coverage if they were too drunk.
Paul claimed he was told by the insurance company’s agents that investigators used footage of Kylee walking just before the accident, as well as their hotel bill (nine Long Island iced teas ordered to their room) and a guesstimation of Kylee’s weight to determine she could have had a blood-alcohol level of 0.35, which is above Cover-More’s threshold of 0.19, which would consider her “unconscious”.
He also said that the footpath was slippery and that there was no handrail to support Kylee — Paul reportedly used footage of Kylee slipping earlier in the day to support this claim.
Kylee’s blood-alcohol was not taken by doctors when she was rushed to hospital, therefore there were no documents to confirm the numbers the insurance company calculated.
A spokesperson from Cover-More Insurance said it’s “fair and reasonable in [its] claims processes.”
“We gave Kylee’s husband, Paul, a detailed and transparent explanation for declining this claim,” the spokesperson said.
“This is a sad case, and we will continue to offer Paul and Kylee and their families all the non-financial assistance Cover-More can.
“This includes help with arranging repatriation to Australia, assisting with hospital admissions and a ground ambulance in Australia, travel arrangements and making appointments with local medical practitioners overseas or in Australia.”
Thankfully, Kylee was able to return home due to the help GoFundMe donors.
Our thoughts are with Paul and his family during difficult time.
Image source: Facebook / Paul Enwright
