Attempt to bring a Scottish cancer patient back to an island island in the Indian Ocean

Friends of a critically ill Scotchman stuck on an island in the Indian Ocean raise money to finance an air ambulance that will bring him home.

Jon Paul McAllister, of Rutherglen, was diagnosed with bowel cancer earlier this year.

After the treatment and after receiving the green light, he traveled with his fiance as part of his "vacation of a lifetime".

But he is now hospitalized in Reunion, unable to return to Scotland.

The 38-year-old social worker told BBC Scotland that he was "desperate" to return home so he could conduct a "proper investigation" of what was wrong with him.

Holidays in South Africa, Madagascar and Seychelles with his partner Craig Park were to mark the end of his treatment.

However, shortly after arriving on vacation, he became extremely ill and spent two weeks in what the couple described as an "unsanitary medical center" in Nosy Be, Madagascar.

Mr. McAllister stated that he was "naughty, dirty and infested with insects".

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Craig Park

He was then transferred by air ambulance to Reunion, but analyzes showed that the cancer had returned and that he was not medically fit to return home by commercial aircraft.

Back in Scotland, friends started a crowdfunding effort to cover the costs of his treatment, as well as an air ambulance returning to Scotland. They claim that the insurance company Mr. McAllister will not pay.

A JustGiving page has attracted more than £ 8,000 in donations, with a goal of £ 35,000.

His fiancé, Mr Park, told BBC Scotland: "We do not know at all what's wrong with Jon Paul." At first, they said it was an infection. But doctors now say that it could be a kidney or other tumor. It is very important to get a definitive answer.

"The moment I feel really scared, my whole goal is to bring Jon Paul home.

"It's been a huge shock to him and he's really scared too, desperate to go home."