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Robby, a 79-year-old retired college professor, slipped on the rain-slicked marble tile in China on July 21. His head hit the ground, but he got up and seemed OK, so they boarded a tour bus heading into the mountains. Robby quickly became ill, vomiting and complaining of sinus-like pain. No one knew yet that his brain was bleeding.
The nightmare that followed included a trip down the mountain in a makeshift van-ambulance to a hospital where no one spoke English. Doctors drilled holes into Robby's skull and removed a huge blood clot. He was flown by air ambulance to Hong Kong for more surgery; then back to the United States.
The supplemental insurance ended up covering Robby's multi-leg trip home, including arranging for several flights with medical experts on board. Robby never recovered, however, and died Dec. 9.
Lynda Bruner's medical emergency last summer almost ended the same way. The sales executive from Bel Air, Md., fell ill with what she thought was heat exhaustion on the last day of a Dominican Republic vacation with friends to celebrate milestone birthdays, including her 60th.
Soon she developed breathing problems and went into cardiac arrest. Doctors revived her, but she remained in a coma for three days. Bruner awoke at a hospital in Florida, where she had arrived via a medical flight arranged by Medex, the same company that handled Robby Robbins' flights. The company arranged for Bruner's flight with a nurse to Maryland and helped her husband, who doesn't speak Spanish, deal with Dominican doctors.
The expenses totaled more than $15,000, but were covered by health insurance her employer provides -- a benefit she didn't know about in advance. Bruner had also bought extra travelers' insurance.
U.S. doctors found and removed a tongue cyst they thought might have contributed to the breathing problems, and Bruner is doing fine.
"Once they saw my experience, everybody says they will not go out of the U.S. again without" traveler's health insurance, Bruner said. Even if you never need it, she said, "just that sense of security" is worth it.
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On the Net:
U.S. Travel Insurance Association: http://www.ustia.org/
State Department:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/
brochures/brochures_1215.html
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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