#BringLukeHome

Update: Progress as Luke arrives in Australia

Thanks to the generosity of the Cairns community, he is now in Brisbane receiving medical care in the Princess Alexandra Hospital. He is mentally strong and has been buoyed by the donations and messages already flowing through.

Luke’s road to recovery will be long and hard. Bring Luke Home campaign’s ultimate goal remains to bring this young man home to Cairns where he can continue to rebuild his life surrounded by his support networks and the love of his family and friends. 

Luke Rampal is a Cairns man who travelled to Vietnam to help others – now he needs our help.

On October 8, Luke’s life changed forever. He was critically injured in a motorcycle accident in Hoi An and medically evacuated to Bangkok, in Thailand, for life-saving surgery.

Luke suffered a break to his C3 and C4 vertebrae and faces many challenges, the first of which is to come home.  The full extent of the damage to his spinal chord is not yet known. But he has no feeling and movement on his right side, and minimal feeling on his left side. His shoulder is also broken.

Luke grew up in Cairns, went to Smithfield State High School and has worked locally for most of his life as a tree lopper, slugger on fishing boats and a driller.

He’s always been an active, physical person, living life by the tides. Luke’s a loyal, generous, loveable son, brother, uncle and friend who would give the shirt off his back to a person in need.

For the past three years, Luke joined his partner, Skye, in Vietnam. He started as a volunteer for Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation, rescuing street kids and children who have been trafficked for sexual slavery or labour exploitation.

As Luke’s network grew, he joined ‘Learning Project Asia’ as a Camp leader for international school groups. Luke loved sharing his extensive knowledge of plants and animals as the kids learned about the biodiversity of Vietnam’s plants and animals, and the importance of caring for the environment.

Luke later had the opportunity to work as a motorbike and jeep tour guide in Central Vietnam. This is where he discovered his passion as a tour guide, meeting wonderful people every day, showing them the magic of Vietnam and sharing his love of adventure.

As he’s done all his life, Luke makes friends with everyone. Luke has many global friends and treasures his beloved Vietnamese friends.

Our Goal

Since the accident on 8^th October, costs for his care have already reached more than $95,000. This has included medical evacuation, emergency surgery and all pre and post-operative care. Daily, Luke’s care costs continue to accumulate and cannot be sustained for much longer. Luke’s parents, relatives and friends have rallied to pull funds together but Luke needs to come home now.

The immediate goal is to bring him home to Cairns so he can continue to get medical care, surrounded by the love and support of his family, friends and community. He is mentally strong and has been buoyed by the donations and messages of support already flowing through.

Update: Thanks to the generosity of the Cairns community, he is now in Brisbane receiving medical care in the Princess Alexandra Hospital.