THE family of a former Adelaide man fighting for his life in Mexico face financial ruin after being forced to pay tens of thousands of dollars for his 24-hour care.

Ryan Maudlen, 33, who suffers from Crohn’s disease, which causes bowel inflammation, was struck down last week while travelling through Mexico with his girlfriend, Katharina Reigl.

Mr Maudlen, who has travelled extensively since leaving Adelaide in 2007, was forced to undergo emergency surgery, in which more than 60cm of his bowel was removed.

He is today in a medically induced coma in Galenia Hospital, in Cancun, on the country’s far-east coast, after being struck down with blood poisoning when his bowel and intestines perforated.

He also suffered kidney and liver failure as well as heart problems, and remains in intensive care in the hospital, located more than 1600km from the country’s capital Mexico City.

His parents, Robert, 64, and Deb, 60, now face medical bills of up to $200,000 for his around-the-clock care and have been forced to remortgage their Modbury Heights house.

His mother, a legal secretary, is today flying to Mexico to be by her son’s bedside.

Mr Maudlen, a baker, is today visiting his bank to secure a new mortgage. He said the family was “devastated”.

“We hope for a full recovery,” he said. “He is a fighter so he is not going to give up easily.”

The family has already been hit with bills of up to $US27,000 ($AUD31,000) every two days from Mexican hospital officials and fear his medical help will stop if they cannot pay.

The cost is for just medication and does not include the doctor or anaesthesiologist bills.

They also face a bill of $160,000 to medevac him back to Australia, where he has private health insurance and a specialist doctor ready to help. He is too unwell to currently make that trip.

It remains unclear if he had travel insurance for this particular leg of his trip, which began in July, and involved driving from Alaska to Argentina.

His family told The Advertiser that he would usually travel with cover but they were unsure if he had been able to secure insurance for this particular part of the trip.

Many companies refuse to cover people with pre-existing conditions in areas such as Central and South America, which have expensive and high-risk hospital systems.

His family and friends have launched a public appeal to help raise money for his treatment and have taken to social media to raise awareness of his plight.

Almost $32,000 has already been raised.

His London-based sister Rachel, 38, has been co-ordinating the family from Britain while another sister Kylie, 35, remains in Brisbane.

Daniel Milky, who operates the popular Argo cafe on the Parade, Norwood, urged people to help his friend, an avid Adelaide Crows supporter.

“He has always been a fun and outgoing person and has touched thousands of people with his generosity and adventurous personality,” he said.

Mr Maudlen, formerly of Modbury Heights, worked in London as a business systems analyst before travelling for a year in 2011, when he met his Austrian-born girlfriend, aged in her late 20s. She remains by his bedside.

The pair, now based in Vancouver, Canada, was travelling through Mexico when he was struck down last Monday in Playa del Carmen, about an hour south of Cancun.

He was transferred to the coastal resort-town after his condition worsened.

Mr Maudlen has suffered from the disease since he was 14 — forcing him to be hospitalised at least five times — but his family said he had enjoyed remarkable health in recent years.

They said last week’s episode was the worst he had suffered.

Figures show 75,000 Australian have been diagnosed with the disease.

The family have received consular assistance from the Department of Foreign Affairs but it is understood the Federal Government has said it cannot offer financial help.

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