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Naomi Fitzgerald De Grave, a Sydney model, met Ned, an elderly homeless man, two years ago when she was on her way to work.
Through his broken English, they struck up a friendship – with De Grave visiting him in Surry Hills most mornings.
She became concerned last week after not seeing Ned for eight days, reports Yahoo 7.
De Grave found Ned lying under a tree in Hyde Park; he was severely dehydrated, hadn’t eaten in weeks and his breathing was shallow. She took him straight to St Vincent’s hospital where they discovered just how serious his condition was.
“At first we thought he would be in over night,” De Grave wrote on a GoFundMe page for Ned. “It wasn’t till a visit back at the emergency department early Saturday morning we realised that it was something serious.”
Ned has severe spinal fractures and requires surgery to address the mass of nerves putting pressure on his spine.
“He was very scared, very lonely… It was the first time Ned has cried and he asked me not to go,” explains De Grave, who has raised $8,685 to help with his medical costs and, hopefully, find his family.
“I would love to find his family as he talks about them often and I am sure that being homeless on the streets for 13 years he has lost contact with them,” says De Grave. “He misses his family immensely.”
It is believed Ned was born in Turkey before moving to Germany and finally coming to Australia. He has children in Turkey, Germany and England.
De Grave hopes that this information will help to track down his loved ones overseas.
“Although this is the information he has given me, with mental health issues I’m not sure if any of it is correct,” says De Grave. “But it is what I’ve got to go on.”
If you have information about Ned’s identity or family, you can email [email protected]
