A Calgary man who contracted flesh-eating bacteria while on vacation in Asia needs a medevac to return home to Canada. Now, friends are desperately raising money to help with the costs of getting him back on Canadian soil.

Harvey Kell, 81, and his partner Tony Ries were looking forward to returning home to their loved ones. But as they started their journey home last week, Kell fell ill and now needs a medevac to get home.

Complicating the matter is that the couple’s insurance ran out on the day Kell entered the hospital, as they were supposed to be home from their trip by then.

In the hopes of raising $50,000 to cover the couple’s unforeseen expenses, family and friends have launched a GoFundMe page.

“It’s heart-wrenching to watch people you love go through this, and you can’t be with them,” Lori Ries, Tony’s sister-in-law, told CTV Calgary.

The incident began last week when the Calgary couple, making their way back to Canada from Thailand, took their first connector flight to Taiwan.

In transit, Kell found a bruise on his leg that began swelling up. He was taken to Landseed Hospital in Taiwan, where he was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis. Doctors think he may have contracted the illness on a Thai beach. It quickly got worse.

“When someone’s in septic shock, your organs start to shut down and it was scary,” said Lori Ries, who has been receiving updates from Saskatchewan.

Kell was in critical condition for days but on Wednesday, he was showing signs of improvement.

“It doesn’t look now like they’ll have to amputate the leg but with necrotizing fasciitis, they have to get rid of all that dead flesh and then they have to start doing all that skin grafting,” she said.

The couple’s insurance ended the day Kell went into the hospital in Taiwan because they were supposed to be back home in Canada by then.

The family has learned that insurance will still cover some of the costs, including medications.

But on Wednesday, Ries said that the family is “not certain at this point” if Kell will be flown back to the closest point in Canada, which would be Vancouver. Then flying Kell from Vancouver to Calgary would be another added cost, she said.

In a message posted on the GoFundMe page on Wednesday, Tony Ries wrote that he is “absolutely overwhelmed” by the kindness and generosity of everyone. Please keep your prayers and positive energy flowing to Harvey.”

Lori Ries said she is grateful for the outpouring of support.

“With the people who have reached out already it’s so overwhelming and we just want our boys home.”

With a report by CTV Calgary’s Alesia Fieldberg