Rebecca Ode: Mystery as Australian woman suffers life-changing head, facial injuries in horrific Bali incident
The family of a young Australian woman horrifically injured in an unknown incident on an Indonesian island are desperately trying to get her home.
Rebecca Ode was found by a friend lying on the ground in Nusa Lembongan, an island southeast of Bali, with life-changing injuries to her head and face early Tuesday, July 2. Her face and cheekbones were caved in, and her jaw and collarbones were broken.
The brutal incident caused Ms Ode to suffer a brain haemorrhage and left her with injuries so severe she is expected to lose her sight or lose an eye and need facial reconstructive and plastic surgery.
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Her brother-in-law Jesse Wilton told NewsWire, “no one knows how the accident happened”.
“No one knows if it was a motorbike, no one knows if it was an accident,” he told NewsWire.
The 36-year-old had moved to the holiday destination in January for a fresh start after losing her father two years earlier.
“We had just seen the best version of Bec we had ever seen, now this awful tragedy,” Mr Wilton said.
After being found, Ms Ode was taken by boat to Bali mainland and rushed to Ngoerah General Hospital for brain, eye and reconstructive surgery. Without an eye surgeon available, Ms Ode had to be transferred to another hospital in Denpasar where she underwent surgery. She remains there in a critical but stable condition.
Now, her family are determined to bring her home to Newcastle so she can receive “the best health care possible”.
In a call for help on GoFundMe, Mr Wilton said the family would “bring her home no matter what it takes,” but called on the Australian community to support them.
“We’re asking for your help,” he wrote.
“We need to make it happen as soon as possible, so the focus can be on Bec’s recovery in the time ahead.
“The bills are already over $60,000 for a few days in an international hospital and she may not be able to travel for weeks, so this will continue to rise.”
Her family have flown to Bali to be by her side.
“While her recovery journey is unknown, we know Bec will continue fighting her best fight with her strong will and determination,” Mr Wilton said.
Rebecca will be flown home once she is cleared to travel, with Mr Wilton estimating the cost to blow out to around $250,000.
“It will be one step at a time, but an expensive journey, if we all pull together we can make a big difference,” he wrote.
So far, more than $90,000 has been raised to get her home.
