A Journey of Recovery
A young man, Jaxen Day, 23, was found unconscious on a remote road by a fisherman on an island east of Bali. This incident occurred during his first solo holiday traveling through Asia. The fisherman discovered him on a remote road in Lombok on April 23 in the early hours.
There were no visible injuries and no clear explanation for what had happened—only the urgency of a life hanging in the balance. His best friend, Luka Jackway, shared this on a GoFundMe campaign. He mentioned that Jaxen was turned away from two medical clinics before a third recognized the seriousness of his condition. Nearly 12 hours after he was found, Jaxen was finally transported by ambulance to a hospital three hours from the spot he was found.
A video shared by Mr. Jackway showed Mr. Day waking up in a hospital bed while a doctor asked him to open his eyes. “What is your name?” the doctor asked, to which Mr. Day mumbled his name. Mr. Jackway said his friend had no travel insurance, and his family only learned of his hospitalization after seeing a post on social media.
Jaxen suffered a severe brain injury and required emergency life-saving surgery. Doctors have described the trauma as similar to extreme shaking, though the exact cause remains unknown. He was in a coma in the ICU and remains in a very fragile state. He is facing a long and uncertain road ahead. His parents are by his side, desperately wanting to bring him home safely.
Jaxen’s father, Allan, said he received a message from a hostel manager on social media that his son was in a coma. “It was absolutely horrible, I just thought, is this a dream, what’s going on?” he told nine.com.au on Friday. “He was just lying on the road and his motorbike was right beside him. Neither had a mark or scratch on them. Nothing.”
He was taken to several clinics before he was finally admitted—though it took staff some time to realize he was in a coma, as there were no signs of injury.
Allan and his wife have since rushed to be by Jaxen’s bedside. “The neurosurgeon showed us scans of his brain and he said the only way he could see how that sort of damage could occur is if his head was fiercely shaken—because it’s all internal, there’s no external trauma at all,” he said.
Jaxen still cannot use his right arm, but his leg has regained some movement. He has since left the hospital after three weeks and is now recovering in Bali. Though he is battling balance issues, a non-functioning right arm, a brain injury, and a fractured left collarbone, his sheer determination to try and walk is inspiring.
Mr. Jackway wrote in an update to the GoFundMe campaign: “His sheer determination to try and walk is inspiring.” However, without travel insurance, the Day family face high hospital bills in Indonesia and rehabilitation costs when Jaxen finally returns to Australia.
Mr. Jackway set up the fundraiser to help cover the costs of medical care, ongoing treatment, medical transport home, and his friend’s long-term recovery. “Jaxen is a quiet and determined young man who is kind, caring and compassionate. He is motivated and independent, recently completing his studies to teach English as a foreign language,” he said.
“Jaxen has been travelling throughout Asia with the intention of teaching in Cambodia as his next venture.”
