Tropical disease: The parents of a university graduate from Derry were last night making arrangements for their son's body to be returned home after he died at the weekend in Thailand from malaria.
Christopher Gallagher (24), from Liscloon Drive in the Shantallow area of Derry, was due home in two weeks. He was on the final leg of his six-month-long backpacking holiday in South Asia, but he died on Saturday morning in the Dandore International Hospital on the southern Thai island of Koh Samui Samui.
"He phoned us on Friday, which was my birthday, from his hospital bed to tell us he was very ill," said his mother, Mary.
"I knew from his voice that he was gravely ill. He told us all how much he loved us. He was a very loving son and told us regularly how much he loved us all, but there was something in his voice, his weak voice, which was different. We now know he was making his peace with us and saying goodbye," she said.
"Christopher had taken all the medical precautions necessary for his holiday. He spent months planning it and he was fulfilling his dream to travel after he graduated from Queen's University last year. He told us he had no regrets about his life and his decisions.
"He was only two weeks away from returning home. Now we have to wait for his body to be returned home. It is a nightmare but it would have been so much worse had Christopher not taken out the full travel and medical insurance before he left.
"We spoke at length to the hospital doctors. They were able to tell us that Christopher had more than likely been bitten while exploring the Burmese jungles in March. That is the breeding season for the mosquitoes. The strain of malaria which infected him has no known medical remedy," she said.
Christopher's father, Martin, said the doctors told him the strain of malaria his son had was particularly virulent.
"Basically, once he was bitten he had no chance. His phone call to us on Friday lasted almost an hour. It was Mary's birthday and we were preparing to go out for a meal together. Christopher said that his kidneys and liver were infected, together with his lungs.
"I could hear the fear in his voice, so many miles away from home. He had trekked through India, Tibet, Nepal, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Burmese jungles and Thailand. He kept in regular contact with us by phoning and sending e-mails," said Martin.
"We have many people to thank who have been so helpful - the PSNI, the medical staff at the hospital in Thailand, our neighbours, our clergy and the staff at Axa insurance who have been very understanding. We would also like to thank the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin.
"Christopher graduated last year with a BA in English and had hoped to become a journalist. He loved writing, he loved painting and he loved travelling. If we have any consolation, it's that he died doing what he loved and he had a chance to say goodbye to us all.
"If anything good is to come of Christopher's death, it's our wish that people travelling to areas such as southeast Asia should take out the full travel and medical insurance. Had our son not done so, I dread to think just how many times worse this would have been for us," he said.