INDEPENDENT candidate and environmental activist Damien Cole has thanked the community for their generous support towards his hospital bill after he suffered a head injury while on a surfing holiday in Bali.<\/p>\n
According to the GoFundMe page set up by Anna Marte, Mr Cole was having his last surf before returning to Australia when his board hit his head, breaking his skull and exposing his eyebrow bone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose who know Damien know that he is one of the most humble and caring people around. He never asks for anything and solely gives – to his friends, family and environment,\u201d Ms Marte said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis trip he had planned to just head to Vietnam and refuel after a year of fighting for the Bight and running election campaigns with the sole goal to protect the environment. He decided to spend one week in Bali to do what he loves – surfing.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has always had insurance but this time around because he hadn\u2019t planned to go to Bali, he forgot – a mistake many people can relate to.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo now Damien is looking at a hospital bill that might well exceed $20,000AUD and now it is time we reach out to help this guy that always helps others.\u201d<\/p>\n
As of Tuesday afternoon, the page had raised $22,286 from 406 donations in the space of six days.<\/p>\n
In an update posted on Monday, Ms Marte wrote that Mr Cole was released from hospital on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt this moment he is not fit to fly yet. Next Tuesday he might get his stitches out and probably by the end of next week he will be good to go and come back home.<\/p>\n
\u201cOut of the bottom of his heart, he thanks all of you who donated.<\/p>\n
\u201cSmall or big, each and every donation is so entirely welcomed and he thanks you so much for your help, and support to heal up and not worry about the financial burden that was hanging above him.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
INDEPENDENT candidate and environmental activist Damien Cole has thanked the community for their generous support towards his hospital bill after he suffered a head injury while on a surfing holiday in Bali. According to the GoFundMe page set up by Anna Marte, Mr Cole was having his last surf before returning to Australia when his […]<\/p>\n