A Lake Geneva teen who became ill overseas remains in a coma at a hospital in Paris, France. 17-year-old Nathan Dyer’s traveler’s insurance maxed out. Now, his family is begging for help to get him back to America for care.
Inside the halls of Badger High School, Dyer’s locker is covered in paper cranes, a symbol of good fortune for the student who’s suffering halfway across the world.
“I think it was really powerful,” said junior Colin Ring.
Ring is one of Dyer’s friends rallying around him during a difficult time.
“He is an amazing person, he is absolutely wonderful,” Ring said. “This is a serious issue and there’s not a doubt in my mind that as a human being, I should be there to help out.”
About a month ago, Dyer embarked on his first journey overseas to Morocco with his cousin Ashley Benyamina and her husband. He suddenly became ill and fell into a coma. Benyamina was with Dyer until he was airlifted to Paris for better care.
“He’s still not fully conscious, he has some reflexes and is opening his eyes, but he’s not able to really respond or move,” Benyamina said.
Without a diagnosis, Benyamina said Dyer is in need of an expensive air-ambulance home to receive treatment that's covered by his insurance.
“We already have doctors lined up who are ready to accept him here and would like to try and help him and make him recover,” she said.
While a Go Fund Me page makes its rounds, back at Badger High School, Ring and Bella Peetz organized a fundraiser of their own to give it a boost at Monday night’s choir concert.
“We had volunteers with buckets going around for one minute around the audience and the audience gives donations,” Peetz said.
Students raised $1,200 to get Dyer the help he needs.
“The main goal is to make sure Nathan is OK,” Ring said.
Senators Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin’s teams told TODAY’S TMJ4 they are in contact with Dyer’s family and are reaching out to the state department to find out if there’s anything the government can do to bring him home.
