Help Needed After L-W North Grad Has Overseas Brain Hemorrhage

This summer, Anthony Brattoli, a 2015 Lincoln-Way North High School graduate from Tinley Park, had been spending the months between his junior and senior years at Brown University working for an international law firm in Prague in the Czech Republic. A double major in English and Slavic Studies, Brattoli was translating legal documents from Russian to English, as well as teaching English to the firm's receptionists.

But last month, he suffered a brain hemorrhage caused by a previously undiagnosed arteriovenous malformation, which is an abnormal connection between arteries and veins. Emergency brain surgery was performed in Prague, but the damage was so significant that Brattoli has been in a coma and a vegetative state since the surgery.

Brattoli's family now faces thousands of dollars in overseas medical bills and other expenses from the sudden medical emergency. His mother, Tamara Brattoli, started a GoFundMe campaign Wednesday to help pay for some of those costs. The fundraiser has a goal of $50,000, and it has raised more than $30,000 in two days.

Anthony Brattoli was rushed to Prague Military Hospital on June 20 after he collapsed from the hemorrhage, his mother wrote on the GoFundMe page. Doctors were able to control the bleeding in his brain — which they called a "disaster" — but he was still given a "very poor prognosis," she added.

"This hospital in Prague is an excellent hospital and has provided him with the best care possible," Tamara Brattoli wrote. "Unfortunately, the bleeding in his brain was so significant that they are limited in what they can do for him."

Brattoli's mother has been in Prague since he was hospitalized, and she has been working on arranging an air ambulance flight back to the United States for when it is medically safe for her to fly. An early Friday update on the GoFundMe page stated that Brattoli would be transferred to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and flown to Chicago either Saturday afternoon or evening.

"At first, they offered me a seat on the plane with him, but early this morning, I received word that due to weight limitations on the aircraft because of the equipment they will need for his care, I will not be able to travel with him on the ambulance flight," Tamara Brattoli wrote, adding that she'll fly back on a commercial flight at a later, undetermined time.

Despite being covered by Brown's study abroad insurance, Brattoli has racked up $10,000 in medical expenses from his emergency, and the family will have to use a credit card to pay that because the Prague hospital will not allow a payment plan, his mom wrote. There also are the costs associated with international plane travel and accommodations, as well as future expenses, she added.

WATCH: Anthony Brattoli performs at Brown University's concerto competition in 2017.

"Once he is back in the U.S., we will have to pay some rent expenses to his roommate in Providence who is now left holding a lease on his own … and costs to get his personal belongings including two tubas back from Providence," wrote Tamara Brattoli, who stated that her son is an accomplished tuba player who played in Brown's orchestra and won the university's concerto competition in 2017. "There will also be long term medical expenses for the remainder of his life, however long that ends up being."

To donate, go to the GoFundMe page for Anthony Brattoli.

Anthony Brattoli (Photo via GoFundMe)