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Perth carpenter Shane Ramsey to be farewelled this week after Bali scooter crash death as parents reveal financial burden

Bryce Luff7NEWS
Shane Ramsey died from catastrophic injuries sustained in a  Bali scooter crash.
Camera IconShane Ramsey died from catastrophic injuries sustained in a Bali scooter crash. Credit: Supplied

A Perth man who died in hospital from catastrophic injuries sustained in a scooter crash while on holiday in Bali will be farewelled during a service this week.

Shane Ramsey’s family has managed to avoid selling their home to pay the massive bills that piled up as doctors tried to keep the 30-year-old alive and he was flown back to WA.

Ramsey died almost a week after he fractured his skull and sustained critical brain damage in August.

The carpenter underwent surgery in Bali and was brought back to Perth on a medevac flight.

Tragically, doctors could do little and were soon delivering his parents the heartbreaking news that he would not regain any brain function.

They are now preparing to say their final goodbye, with a funeral service to be held in Perth on Friday. It will be followed by a private wake.

Ramsey had been celebrating a friend’s wedding and was on his way to watch the UFC when he struck a pole in Seminyak.

He underwent emergency brain surgery and spent four nights in BIMC Hospital Kuta, surrounded by friends and family.

Loved ones managed to secure him a passage home to Perth and upon landing he was taken straight to Royal Perth Hospital.

Tragically he could not be saved.

Shane Ramsey's family have managed to keep their home despite expensive medical bills for their late son.
Camera IconShane Ramsey's family have managed to keep their home despite expensive medical bills for their late son. Credit: Supplied/Ramsey family

Without travel insurance, medical bills soared to more than $350,000.

One surgery on the holiday island was $53,000 and each night in hospital was a further $9,000.

Donations — about $130,000 — poured in to support Ramsey, but there was still a huge gap to cover and his parents had flagged they might have to sell their house to pay the rest.

But in a glimmer of good news amid the darkness, they were able to remortgage, meaning they will keep their home.

“You do what you have to and we did what any parent would in that situation,” Catherine Ramsey told 7NEWS.com.au of their desperate bid to keep her son alive and get him back to WA.

“You’re on autopilot a bit (amid the grieving). The banks were great and everyone was understanding and trying to help out.”

She thanked donors who had contributed to her son’s care and was taking solace in knowing that he was an organ donor who will give the gift of life to others.

She has also issued a warning to others travelling to Bali, saying she had reflected in the last week amid a backdrop of other fatal accidents.

Australian Thomas James Cossins, 30, was killed when he crashed his motorbike in Buleleng on Friday.

Ramsey’s advice to tourists is to reconsider riding scooters or bikes because you “don’t know what you’re getting on”.

“Take care. This happens in the blink of an eye,” she said.

Shane Ramsey was critically injured in a scooter crash in Bali.
Camera IconShane Ramsey was critically injured in a scooter crash in Bali. Credit: Supplied/Ramsey family

Ramsey’s friend Amyleigh Mitchell previously pleaded with tourists to wear helmets and get travel insurance, and thanked those who had contributed to the fundraising campaign.

“If it was not for all your donations we would not have been able to bring Shane home and give him the best possible treatment he deserves,” Mitchell said.

“So please just know that Shane’s family have no words to express their extreme gratitude for all the support from those who knew Shane, and even the total strangers who also donated.”

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