A recent fundraising drive to bring injured North Vancouver man Chris Thomas back to England could uproot or possibly even sever his family, according to Chris's wife, Christina.
Thomas sustained brain injuries as the result of an incident outside the Rusty Gull pub in 2011.
The 42-year-old former stone mason was punched by a man in a Santa Claus costume just before midnight on Dec. 16.
Thomas was released from hospital after a cursory examination, only to be readmitted when a friend observed him acting strangely.
Either the punch or the fall caused bleeding inside his skull and swelling on the brain.
Thomas later suffered from meningitis, a stroke and seizures, ultimately spending two months on a ventilator in an intensive care unit, according to Christina.
Recently, Thomas has been able to eat food and speak. His comprehension is also improving, according to Christina.
"He's recovering but it's going to be a long process," she said. Thomas is currently in a wheelchair in the neurology unit at Lions Gate Hospital, according to Christina.
The couple has been together nearly 10 years, according to Christina, including the last seven years in North Vancouver.
While Thomas has not lived in England in two decades, his parents want to take care of him at home, according to Christina.
"There's this tug of war between his family here and his family there," she explained.
Charlie Cooper, a childhood friend of Thomas, recently spearheaded a fundraising drive to bring him back to Halewood, a suburb of Liverpool, through the website Bring Bunce Home, referring to Thomas's nickname.
"Chris has been taken critically ill and the family are desperate to repatriate him to the UK where he belongs," reads the message on the website's homepage.
Thomas was an avid Liverpool FC fan, and the soccer club, as well as its Vancouver affiliate, have supported the fundraising bid.
The entire drive came about without Christina's involvement.
"No one's discussed it with me and I'm just his wife, that's all," she said. "I don't know where they're getting this idea that they're going to take my husband on an airplane back to Liverpool. . . . He has two beautiful children right now that need their dad."
The fundraising drive comes at a time when the family is living on a shoestring, according to Christina.
"Here I am thinking the fundraiser was for me and my children to help us out while my husband's recuperating, but no, it's to send him back to Liverpool," she said.
Deep in debt, Christina and her children, ages six and eight, are currently facing eviction.
"We're being kicked out of our home that we've lived in for six years because there's no support for us," she said.
When it comes to where he'll live, Thomas will make the decision when he's ready, according to Christina.
"My husband will get to a point where he can speak for himself. Whether he wants to go back to Liverpool and leave his children here, that's up to him. That's not up to his friends, that's not up to his parents, that's up to him," she said.
Cooper has overstepped his boundaries, according to Christina.
"He's just a friend. He's not a relative, he's not his brother, he's not a family member, he's just a childhood friend. He's coming here causing trouble," she said. "My husband almost died from meningitis and he had a stroke. During the period where he was very ill and we didn't know if he was going to make it, it was just me and my children, and my sister came to help out a bit. There was no Charlie Cooper here until he started getting better."
