$10k raised here to help Irish expat

Around $10,000 has been raised here to help Irish national Lisa Orsi, who collapsed during a trekking holiday in Indonesia.

The 22-year-old was working in Bright Vision Hospital in Hougang as a physiotherapist, and had been in Singapore for a year prior to the accident.

Ms Orsi lost consciousness last Friday while hiking up a volcano and was first warded in an Indonesian hospital, reported Irish paper The Belfast Telegraph.

She was diagnosed with severe brain damage due to hypoxia - which is a lack of oxygen - and was taken to the Singapore General Hospital on Wednesday.

According to a Facebook post by her mother Sharon Orsi, Ms Orsi had severe altitude sickness and was undergoing various medical tests.

"Thank you all for your support, encouragement and beautiful words," she said.

"They are in themselves giving our family great strength and will to keep going."

Altitude sickness is typically caused by the low oxygen levels at altitudes above 3,000m, and is not uncommon even among very fit trekkers.

It is characterised by headaches and nausea, although people may lose consciousness in severe cases.

An online fund-raiser to help pay for Ms Orsi's medical expenses was set up by the Singapore Gaelic Lions, a Gaelic football club of which she was a member.

It has also raised around £19,800 (S$41,500) on a separate site that cannot be used by those residing in Singapore.

The call for donations was also shared by the Singapore Physiotherapy Association, of which Ms Orsi was also a member.

"She's really kind, loving and funny, and she's full of energy," said Sinead Carr, who is a childhood friend of Ms Orsi and works as a speech therapist in Singapore.

"Her heart is as golden as her hair and she's a real live wire."

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