Ashley’s family have flown out to be at her bedside
A travel blogger found unconscious and severely dehydrated on the bathroom floor of her apartment in Seoul has been put on a ventilator after her lung collapsed and she developed severe pneumonia. Ashley Surcombe, 29, has been travelling back and forth between Seoul, South Korea’s capital, and the UK over a number of years using various visas, according to her mother, Karen, 64.
On her most recent trip, which began in late 2024, she was making travel content for a Korean company. However, on March 24, after calling and sending messages via text and Instagram and failing to get through to Ashley the weekend before, her parents reached out to a close friend who regularly conducts business in the country and received “shocking” news.
He told them their daughter had been found in her apartment in Seoul, lying on the bathroom floor unconscious and severely dehydrated. Reflecting on the last time she spoke with her daughter before she was found by police in her apartment, Karen Surcombe, Ashley’s mother, who lives in Worcestershire and is retired but previously worked for Gloucestershire Carers Hub, told PA Real Life: “We spoke to her on the Saturday (March 22) and I said let’s have a catch-up again on Sunday, eight o’clock her time.
“I gave her a call and then called and called and called all through the day and couldn’t get any answer. We tried her phone, WhatsApp, sending messages on Instagram, everything we could think of and couldn’t get a hold of her, so on Monday morning, Nigel got up early and tried again and then we reached out to a friend.”
After being rushed to a hospital – which the family did not wish to name – the same day she was found in her apartment, Ashley was put in the intensive care unit, where she remained until March 31. S he was then placed on a general ward, which Karen said was a “huge relief” but was moved back to the ICU on Wednesday, where she was placed on a ventilator after her lung collapsed.
Kat Surcombe, Ashley’s sister, 32, from Cheltenham, told PA: “Unfortunately, we were informed on Tuesday April 1 that she had severe pneumonia and she could possibly return to the ICU. On Wednesday April 2, she was readmitted to the ICU with a collapsed lung and put on a ventilator.
“Her lung has re-inflated after the doctors removed a significant amount of mucus which is positive – she is still on the ventilator. The doctors have advised that she will remain there for the rest of the week.”
Kat said hearing the news her younger sister was back in the ICU was both “frustrating” and “heartbreaking”.
“I know she’s in good hands and I have no doubt that she’s fighting with everything she has to come home. But the truth is, I miss her desperately. I just want to hug her and tell her she’s not alone,” Kat added. “I’m very protective of my family, and not being able to be by Ashley’s side during what must be the most terrifying experience of her life has been one of the most difficult things I’ve ever faced.
“I usually consider myself quite articulate, but this has left me at a loss for words. What I’m feeling is overwhelming, like a supernova of emotions. I’ve sobbed from the deepest parts of myself, which might sound dramatic, but almost losing my sister was soul-shattering.”
Karen said her husband Nigel, 64, arrived in Seoul close to midnight on March 25 to support his daughter. “He’s managing ok but there is a language barrier, but the doctors have been good at explaining what is going on,” she added.
“The first week there, she had a platelet transfusion because her white blood cells were very low. They have done an X-ray on her and she does have pneumonia and she had an MRI scan and she did have a small bleed on the brain.”
Ashley’s family paid an admission fee to have her admitted to hospital, with her mother not sure of how many more costs will be accrued while her daughter waits until she can safely fly back home. ” What the medical costs moving forward are, we still don’t know as Nigel is waiting for an update,” Karen said.
“It’s not something that was important to us as our priority is to get Ashley home but she needs to be cleared fit to fly by doctors, and that could be another two weeks minimum.”
The family has set up a GoFundMe to help with costs, with more than 30% of the £50,000 target being raised. “We have been absolutely humbled and shocked at the donations so far from many people who don’t even know Ashley,” Karen said.
“The outpouring of love and support for her and us as a family has just been phenomenal. On her Instagram page, we posted the GoFundMe and people there were messaging from as far back as her Minecraft days, as Ashley started out as one of the only girl gamers doing Minecraft.
“We used to go to all the Minecraft events and she would get absolutely mobbed by girls and boys and it was phenomenal to see and she has travelled the world with it, so she’s been very lucky that way, but has since moved on to other things.”
To find out more about the family’s GoFundMe, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-cover-ashleys-medical-bills-bring-her-home.