THE Bournemouth sister of a man who was gunned down in South America is appealing for help to fund his treatment.

Gianluigi Romano, 33, almost died when he was attacked in broad daylight in his home city of Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, in March.

After going to the gym he went to a shopping centre to look at some furniture. While there, he was robbed of his iPhone and shot in the process.

He lost 80 per cent of his blood and mobility from his chest to his feet.

Although he miraculously escaped with his life, the cost of his intense treatment in Miami in the months since has drained his family of everything they had.

Now, sister Geraldine Romano, 30, who lives in Winton and works for Barclays at Poole, is appealing for help.

Geraldine, who moved to Bournemouth five years ago to study English and maths, said: “He’s going to therapy for about six hours a day. I’m in touch with him every day. He’s not been depressed or sad.

“He’s focused; he doesn’t talk about what happened, just about his progress and how he’s doing.”

Geraldine said that he still had no feeling below his chest, but with intensive therapy it is hoped that he will develop that again.

She added: “He’s independent now and can do things for himself.

“I went to see him in Miami in July and I had to do everything for him, but now he can do things for himself.”

Gianluigi’s girlfriend, Mariana, was with him when he was shot.

Geraldine said: “My dad has spent everything he had and we were selling everything in Venezuela.

“It’s not enough and we have run out of resources and that’s why we’re doing this appeal.”

On his fundraising page, Gianluigi said: “The bullet fractured my shoulder blade and passed through my lungs and my spinal cord. Even though this was an unfortunate incident, I am still enjoying my life and I am very happy for the second opportunity I have been given to be alive.

“At the moment I am working harder than ever to recover my mobility, to achieve an improvement of the paralysed area, and of course I am working towards my main goal, which is walking again.”

He said that his ultimate aim was to complete a triathlon.

Gianluigi added: “Every little contribution will help me to accomplish my goals, so thank you everyone for your support.”

See his page at gofundme.com/giangi