£20k raised for Walsall man's critically ill wife in Pakistan
More than £20,000 has been raised to help a Walsall man's wife who is in hospital in Pakistan after suffering a bleed on the brain.
Arslan Qurban is hoping to raise £30,000 to cover his wife Rida Fatima's medical bills, including two brain surgeries.
Arslan, from Bloxwich, married Rida in February in Pakistan, and was in the process of preparing paperwork for her to join him in the Black Country when she fell ill.
The 25-year-old car rental agent said Rida complained of a "severe headache" on September 8 and it was later revealed she had a bleed on the brain.
Rida has now had two brain surgeries and was in a coma, but is now responding and "fighting for her life".
Arslan said: "I need assistance and donations towards her medical care, I have already depleted all my savings and exhausted all avenues, this is my last hope to save her life and have her in my loving arms once more.
"My wife is in the only available specialist hospital in Pakistan , who are charging £5k per week for her care. Please help me to give my wife a fighting chance, she just needs all the help she can get."
The couple married in February this year after first speaking just a few months before.
"I met her and I knew straight away she was the one," Arslan added. "We just clicked. We fell in love so fast and ever since that first day we spoke our love just grew and grew to the point I asked her to be my wife in a matter of a few months.
"She said yes straight away and finally my whole life made sense, everything in my life had led me to this day, the day I married her."
Rida is currently in the high dependency unit without a part of her skull as her brain is swollen.
Arslan hopes that the swelling will go down and her skull can be re-attached in the coming weeks, so she can be discharged from hospital.
He added: "Hopefully in the next 10 to 14 days she should have her skull plate back on and then it will be a week or two before she can be discharged, then she will need intense physiotherapy.
"Right now she's showing positive signs, she's opening her eyes and responding to commands.
"It has been the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, because it was completely unexpected.
"The week before it happened I was gathering all the paperwork to get her here."
In just over a month more than £20,000 has been raised on Arslan's GoFundMe page.
He said it was an "incredible amount".
"I've been shocked by the support in such little time, I'm blown back," he added.
To donate, visit gofundme.com/f/mx8en4-saving-my-wifes-life
