The father of 13 year old Alexander Ligairi, who suffered a life threatening brain hemorrhage, has expressed a heartfelt gratitude to the public, as overwhelming support poured in for his son’s urgent medical needs.

Just hours after posting a plea for help on Facebook, the father was left speechless by the generosity he received.

With a goal to raise $440,000 for his son’s overseas neurosurgery in New Zealand, his plea has been met with an incredible outpouring of donations.

At 1 pm today, a total of $31,500 was raised.

Last Saturday, Jerry Ligairi’s son suffered a devastating brain hemorrhage that required immediate and multiple surgeries at Colonial War Memorial Hospital.

Despite the efforts of medical staff, the young patient’s condition necessitated an urgent overseas evacuation for specialized neurosurgery in New Zealand.

As the costs associated with his treatment and air ambulance services reached a staggering $440,000, Jerry Ligairi turned to the public for help.

“Apparently he had a malformed vein in his brain, after a while it burst and that’s when we knew we had to take him to the hospital. The Doctors have told us too that there was no way that we would caught it beforehand, so it’s literally one of those one in a million type of things”, Ligairi said.

He says Alenxandra is the eldest grandson of his family, and by the support from the public so far, he is now everyone’s son.

“He’s a 13 year old boy, his dad posts up a post at 6 in the morning, and you have Fijians both here and overseas throwing money at the problem, and also seeing the Prime Minister sharing the post”, Ligairi said.

“He’s my only son, and I’m the only one out of my brothers who has children, he’s the legacy of this family”, he added.

He says, donations have been pouring in from as far as the Middle East, and America.

The campaign remains open for donations, and the family encourages those who wish to contribute to do so via the provided M-Paisa and bank account details.

MPaisa Details – Ratu Jeremiah Ligairi – 8032661 / ANZ Bank Account – Ratu Jeremiah Ligairi – 12964155

“From a father to everyone who’s helped my son, from my own means I couldn’t do it, and I was just asking for help. I’ll never be able to thank each and every one of you personally, but I hope that you know that we are thankful”, Ligairi said.

A Go-Fund-Me has been created to meet his son’s medical need.

While the campaign’s goal is far from being met, Ligairi says, the rapid progress within the first few hours he remains hopeful.