Help Jim Vereivalu Get Medical Support

This gofundme page has been set up on behalf of Ana, Ema and Tim (Yaca) to help their husband and dad Tim (Jim) with his recovery and rehabilitation from an unexpected major stroke.

In the early afternoon of Saturday 13th May, Tim experienced a major stroke whilst alone at his home in Pacific Harbour, Fiji. He was found by his sister-in-law who then called for help and shortly after he was rushed over 45 minutes away, to the capital's hospital in Suva, the Colonial War Memorial (CWM) Hospital.

Tim had lost all control of his body and was unconscious. Doctors confirmed that he experienced a severe stroke and as a result, there was a major bleed in his brain. After several hours of waiting at the hospital for a free operating room and enough staff members, surgeons conducted surgery to remove the excess blood that had collected in his brain. The surgery was successful, and he is currently in the ICU at the CWM Hospital.

Those of you who know Tim, will know that he has a larger-than-life personality and is always fit and strong. At 55 years old, he is still young but throughout his career he has helped in major events across the globe. From a young police officer in the 1987 Fiji military coup, to the Kuwait Gulf War in Iraq in 1991 as a UN peacekeeper, he also worked the 2007 London bombings as an undercover officer for the Kent Police and Scotland Yard. He has done a lot over his 20+ years as a police officer, after which he went on to work in private security for Shell in Iraq to his current position with US Embassy in Fiji.

To see him like this has left Ana, Ema and Tim, and their immediate family completely devastated. The surgery went seemingly well and the family has been praying for his recovery however they have been advised by doctors in Fiji that moving forward, his best option would be to find care in a country other than Fiji.

Tim is a British citizen however the travel back to the UK from Fiji is incredibly long, so at the moment, his best bet would be to receive medical care in Australia, as it is closer and that is where his younger brother Poli lives. This would mean a possible medevac, private medical bills and other incurred costs.

We are rallying together as a family to fundraise for costs to cover his medical care, recovering and rehabilitation moving forward. As he is still in ICU, we do not know what that may look like and how long it will take but we are hopeful that we will be able to find enough support to get him the professional care that he needs.

It is unfortunate that this happened so far away from the healthcare he could have received in the UK, but we are believing that the relationships and friendships he built across the world will help him in this situation.

Tim has worked his life to give back as much as he can, and his family have always been his motivation. He is someone who walks the walk and is always ready to lend a helping hand to anyone that needs it. His children describe him as a free-spirited, carefree, humble and someone that always loves to make everyone laugh.

We hope we can all work together to help get Timoci/Jim/Timmy V/Tim 607/Uncle Tim the medical support and care that he so desperately needs!

Vinaka vakalevu