A young British mother is fighting for her life in a Vietnamese hospital after a routine cosmetic procedure spiralled into a catastrophic medical emergency, compounded by a devastating infection.
A Dream Holiday Turns Into a Nightmare
Chloe Mowday, a 31-year-old mother-of-three from Perth, Western Australia, travelled to Da Nang, Vietnam, for a rhinoplasty and blepharoplasty on her nose and eyelids two weeks ago. After being discharged from an unnamed clinic the following morning, she returned to her hotel. Within hours, she was found unresponsive as her organs began to shut down.
Her husband, Josh, raised the alarm, and Ms Mowday was rushed to hospital, where she spent a fortnight in a coma on life support. While she has now awoken and is in a stable condition, her ordeal is far from over.
The Devastating Secondary Infection
In a cruel twist, the family's hopes of flying her back to Australia for treatment have been dashed by a severe new complication. "She has necrosis due to no blood flow in her face and so infections have started to set in," her brother, Rod, told News.com.au.
He explained that doctors are managing a flesh-eating bacterial infection, which requires Ms Mowday to undergo surgery every couple of days to remove affected skin from her face. Her face and head remain completely bandaged.
The family revealed that Ms Mowday had been researching overseas surgery options for almost four years, unhappy with her nose since childhood. In a 2022 post in an Australian cosmetic surgery support group, she used photos of Kylie Jenner as inspiration and sought advice, mentioning quotes from Bangkok and recommendations for Turkey.
A Desperate Race to Get Her Home
Ms Mowday had been on an extended holiday with her husband and their five-year-old son, visiting Bali, Hong Kong, and Singapore, with plans to travel to China after her recovery. Her brother Rod immediately flew to Vietnam and launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover mounting hospital bills and an emergency air ambulance flight, estimated at $125,000 (£99,000).
"The doctors have informed us that she has a better chance of getting through this at home in Australia," Rod stated. The fundraiser has so far raised over $60,000 of its $75,000 target.
Rod, who is taking out bank loans to help with costs, expressed profound gratitude to donors, vowing to repay them one day. He maintains hope for her full recovery, stating, "We believe Chloe is getting stronger every day."
Ms Mowday is still undergoing tests to determine the exact cause of her initial collapse, and a police investigation is understood to have been launched. The incident highlights the stark cost differential driving medical tourism; a rhinoplasty in Da Nang costs around AU$2,076, compared to $9,200 in Australia.
