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Original poster

to think you don't go on holiday whilst having a high risk pregnancy and without adequate insurance

707 replies

Defenderwife · 04/10/2015 10:57

Woman gives birth after food poisoning whilst on holiday in the Dominic Republic.

She had a cervical cerclage so knew she had a high risk pregnancy.

Her insurance didn't cover her entire pregnancy.

They are now stranded with a premature baby in a foreign country with no financial help and are relying on donations and GoFundMe.

I have made a donation but inside I feel almost angry. Why on earth have they let themselves be in this situation? That poor poor child.

OP posts:
TheCraicDealer · 05/10/2015 00:47

Sooooo, looks like a massive try on?

What's this fund up to now then?

MoonSandwich · 05/10/2015 00:55

Shock Shock

Hmm
TheCraicDealer · 05/10/2015 00:56

£65,000.

Wonder where that'll go.

AyeAmarok · 05/10/2015 00:57

Oh, so it's another scam then.

Fab.

FFS Hmm Angry

MoonSandwich · 05/10/2015 01:07

The gofundme page set up by 'Sharon Hall' Includes the following quote

I was led to believe I was covered on my insurance up to 29 weeks for ‘normal pregnancy’. Evie was born 28 weeks and 6 days at 10.45pm Dominican time. But the insurers disputed the time difference

So, if the insurers are correct there seems to be something odd going on. Confused If it really was Sharon Hall (Evie's mum) who set the page up then someone has seriously got the wrong end of the stick or someone is lying.

sleepyelectricsheep · 05/10/2015 01:14

If it is a scam, why is the baby not in the decent hospital?

brokenhearted55a · 05/10/2015 01:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Peachypeaches · 05/10/2015 01:23

I don't think it's a deliberate scam. Possibly the insurance company were so slow in making the decision to cover costs that the parents had already been hounded out of the private hospital by the finance people there demanding that they make huge payments of money that they just didn't have.

I would also take the insurance company's statement with a pich of salt as they are trying to minimise damage to their reputation.

Want2bSupermum · 05/10/2015 01:30

What you will probably find is that the hospital they were moved to has the specialist care needed for their baby. I have done my research with flying to Turks and Caicos. If I went into premature labour they would be putting me into a medical plane and flying me to Miami. This is fully covered by my insurance. If I delivered the baby there due to bad weather preventing my flight or a quick delivery they have a boat, set up for medical use, that can sail you up to Miami once you are stable. The boat takes about a day.

Quite frankly you wouldn't catch me going to DR for the risk of the same situation happening. As dr has some form of facility they will keep you there whereas other islands don't so they send you to Miami IF your insurance covers medical evacuation and care in America.

Yeah I did my research before booking our trip. I've had one with preeclampsia, one born at 10lb6oz where afterwards my obn said I gestiational diabetes that went undetected and while I feel like I'm owed a normal pregnancy, given my track record I have to plan for the worst.

MoonSandwich · 05/10/2015 01:30

I'd still prefer it if the gofundme page said what would happen to the money if the insurance company does cover their costs.

Senpai · 05/10/2015 04:16

Yeah, they were stupid.

Most people that end up in the hospital, barring viral illnesses, are because they were being stupid.

Doesn't meant they don't need help, or are deserving of lesser treatment.

I'm not convinced it's a scam quite yet. I've seen plenty of companies cover their own ass, that it's not outside the realm of possibilities that they were originally told no by "someone who was misinformed". If insurance covers, then GoFundme should close the account and refund the money as it will no longer go towards expenses donaters were lead to originally believe.

MidniteScribbler · 05/10/2015 06:09

I've said previously, and I stand by my belief that these 'Go Fund Me' campaigns and similiar should be banned. Any worthy cause should be organised through a registered charity who can manage the fund and ensure that the costs are accounted for and money goes where it is needed.

RomComPhooey · 05/10/2015 06:42

Apologies if this has been said before (not read the whole thread) but Daily Mail she's facing a £185k bill. How????

I'm assuming you haven't RTFT. I gave an example upthread of neonatal care costs in the NHS being pegged at £260k for private overseas patients. Complex, specialist and lengthy healthcare interventions costs a lot of money!

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 05/10/2015 07:02

Senpai - it is utterly ridiculous to say that viral illness is the only reason someone might end up in hospital that isn't caused by the patient's stupidity.

I could give you a long, long list of conditions that would not be down to patient stupidity.

LittleRedSparke · 05/10/2015 07:06

Well if the insurance company pay out, then the go fund me money should go to them - and they should donate it to the hospital

multivac · 05/10/2015 07:40

Following the update from the 'insurance company' (hope you don't mind me borrowing your weighted quotation marks, MoonSandwich), I think it would be fair to have an amnesty for all those who posted before it, offering them a window during which they can cross over from the 'selfish, stupid, thick, irresponsible idiots whose poor, poor child would be "better off with different parents"' bandwagon, to the 'cynical, 21st century scammers, seizing the opportunity to cash in on the generosity of the gullible - you know, just like that other story that was exactly the same apart from the bits that were different' car.

Me, I'll just stay in the 'quietly not donating until more verifiable details emerge, but not feeling the need to hurl vitriol/wag my finger at a terrified and confused woman who has had a traumatic labour, isn't being allowed to spend much time with her rather poorly baby, doesn't speak the local language and is having bills for frighteningly large sums of money waved at her in the meantime' bus. It's not very flashy, but there's a comfy sleeping compartment.

Oh, posters in the 'when I was pregnant, I cared SO MUCH about my baby that I wouldn't even WALK TO THE LOCAL SHOP without the presence of a QUALIFIED MIDWIFE!' ambulance should probably remain where they are, too.

Verypissedoffwife · 05/10/2015 08:25

romcom no I didn't RTFT. I actually stated that in the bit you quoted...

I AM stunned at the bill though. My mum recently spent 18 days in a Spanish hospital after shattering her spine. She ended up having surgery twice. It was fortunately coveted by insurance - I did see the bill thought and it was a tenth of that 165k bill.

BaronessEllaSaturday · 05/10/2015 08:38

Verypissedoffwife she's not in Spain though and the price quoted is for using a private hospital, it's also for 16 weeks not 18 days.

Verypissedoffwife · 05/10/2015 08:43

My Mum was in a private hospital. I'm not saying the woman is lying. I'm just absolutely stunned at a 165k bill from a relatively poor country like the Dominican Republic.

BaronessEllaSaturday · 05/10/2015 08:53

With a country like the Dominican Republic you often get a very extreme two tier system where people who can afford will pay so much more because the option is so bad. It is also an estimate based on what the hospital are currently charging per day however no doubt as Evie gets stronger hopefully less care will be required which will also reduce the cost. I also wonder if there is also an attitude of rich foreigner how much can we get out of them from the hospital side of things.

Palomb · 05/10/2015 09:14

Oh, posters in the 'when I was pregnant, I cared SO MUCH about my baby that I wouldn't even WALK TO THE LOCAL SHOP without the presence of a QUALIFIED MIDWIFE!' ambulance should probably remain where they are, too.

When I was pregnant with my high risk pregnancy wig a cerclage in situ I wasnt allowed to walk anywhere. I wasn't allowed to go to my Mums house an hour away because I needed to be near w level 3 Neonatal Intensive Cate Unit. Even if I had been allowed I wouldn't have bloody done it because I've got a brain in my head.

I feel terribly sorry for Evie and for her parents. I've had two premature babies myself it is really truly the worst thing a parent can go through. Without meaning to sound like a broken record though, this situation is entirely of their own making. I hope they refund every last penny.

multivac · 05/10/2015 09:22

Not sure why you've bolded something that clearly doesn't apply to you, Palomb - but hey, it's your keyboard...

clam · 05/10/2015 09:48

I never fail to be stunned by the number of people who don't take travel insurance seriously. There have been a fair few threads on here for a start, where posters have said, "but I've got an EHIC," or "I'm healthy, why would I need insurance."

When I was trying to get insurance for trips a couple of years back after I'd broken my leg but it was recovered, I had loads of people in RL saying to me that I should just not declare it. Not only would that invalidate my own insurance, but also the rest of my family, on our joint policy. Crazy idea. But presumably there must be people travelling all the time with attitudes like this. The crowd-funding bandwagon will reach saturation point soon,

Puzzledandpissedoff · 05/10/2015 10:22

Regarding the suggested bill, surely nobody actually knows what it will all cost - after all, in the absence of a crystal ball it's difficult to know exactly what will be needed. Isn't it true that the sum is simply the amount which the family have decided they'd rather like??

If I'm wrong I'll willingly hold my hands up, but I'm not holding my breath over the hope they'll give all this donated money to charity

twelfstripe · 05/10/2015 10:26

So now the insurance has confirmed they will be paying, will they be refunding the donations?

It sounds like a remake of the dax scam.

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