Thailand: Welsh holidaymaker paralysed after motorbike crash

A holidaymaker has said becoming paralysed in a motorbike crash in Thailand has “broken his heart”.

Lee Francis, 54, from Church Village, Rhondda Cynon Taf, was on the final day of his break in Krabi, southern Thailand, on 19 January when he and his wife Clare came off their bike.

He said the last thing he remembered before the crash was Clare tapping him on the leg and saying “we’re living the dream”.

Lee is still waiting to come home after a month in hospital.

The couple were visiting Lee’s daughter Katie and due to hand the bikes back 10 minutes after the crash happened.

Lee said: “We were on the way home to have some food and we were only doing 20mph but going round a corner and there was a lot of roadworks and a lot gravel on the road.

“I barely touched my brake, and the bike went into the barrier. I knew instantly I couldn’t feel my legs.

“I realised straight away I was paralysed, and I couldn’t breathe.”

Katie and her boyfriend were ahead and at first thought Clare, who was “covered in blood”, might have suffered worse injuries.

Lee was taken to Bangkok Phuket hospital and developed a pulmonary embolism which affected treatment of his spine, which he had fractured in three places.

He said the surgeon told him he was lucky to survive the night.

Staff spent a week battling to save Lee’s life but were unable to prevent him becoming paralysed from the waist down.

Lee works as a community occupational therapist and has spent his career specialising in helping people with disabilities live independent lives.

His family now must organise a similar kind of care and help for him.

Lee said he was “devastated” and had been “crying every morning” since the crash.

He said: “How am I going to cope? Is Clare still going to want to be with me? I don’t feel like a man anymore because I have double incontinence.

“It has broken my heart. My body doesn’t feel like it’s part of me any more.

“But I am lucky because I am here, and I am alive.”

Lee said a crash helmet saved his life and he encouraged others to wear them.

Clare suffered concussion and deep abrasions on her face and body.

The couple were married in summer 2022. Lee said Clare was “living day by day” and had been “hit for six” by the scarring on her face and mental toll of the crash.

Lee is a big sports fan and has always been active and played basketball and would often go hiking with Clare.

He will continue his treatment and rehabilitation at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff for several months.

He said he was “looking to the future” and was considering getting into wheelchair basketball further down the line.

“But at the moment it’s about building up my upper body strength so I can get out of this bed and into a wheelchair in the next month or so,” he said.