TSUNAMI survivor John Metcalfe was last night preparing for a 13 hour flight home to Liverpool in a bid to save his leg.
Diving instructor John, 24, from West Derby, suffered horrific injuries after he was swept away by the tidal wave on the island of Phi Phi on Boxing Day.
He was flown to a Bangkok hospital last night where a specialist was to decide whether he was fit enough to make the journey home.
His father David, 45, who flew out to be with him in Thailand, has put his house on the market to raise funds for the costs of the treatment John needs. John had no insurance to cover any of the medical costs.
David was at his son's hospital bedside yesterday as John told how he almost drowned. He said he was pinned to a tree by a sheet of corrugated iron as the waves crashed around him.
John, of Lark Hill, was with his girlfriend when they were washed from their apartment in Koh Phi Phi. John found refuge up a palm tree on the beach.
But as the tide changed direction he became trapped between the trunk and a piece of metal.
The corrugated iron sheet tore massive chunks of flesh from his buttocks, arms and left leg, causing horrific injuries and severe bleeding.
John eventually managed to haul himself to safety, but his girlfriend, from Thailand, is believed to have drowned.
He said: "It was horrific. I thought I was going to die.
"It seemed like the whole thing lasted for hours but I've been told since it was only about 10 minutes.
"The pain was like nothing I've ever experienced before, and for a while I didn't think I was strong enough to get away from the tree.
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