Friday, January 7, 2011

Travel Insurance Saved My Life

Thank You, Access America!


















If you love to travel, don't test your luck; you never know when it's going to run out----Get Travel Insurance!

I was only a week into my 30-day Latin-American vacation through Mexico, Panamá, Colombia, Ecuador, and Perú. Most of my time was spent in Perú where I already had close ties with people developed from prior trips. However, after one-week, I went into the Sandwich.Com Restaurant in the ritzy Miraflores section of Lima, Perú. I thought because of the location and the international clientele it served, the restaurant staff knew better than to mix local tap-water in its beverages.

I started feeling sick after I got half-way through my drink. The next two days, I suffered from diarrhea. At first, I tried to tough it out thinking after the diarrhea runs its course, I'd be OK. All I needed to do was get some rest. Wrong! Continuing to rough it out believing I will recover naturally, I took a two and one-half our bus ride to Chincha, Perú where I was staying and flopped down on my bed, later waking up in even worse condition. By this time my kidneys were aching and I was feeling even more nauseous. The hotel manager heard my moans and groans and called an ambulance.


Go figure, I was so tempted to use the insurance money for something else and am glad I didn't.


Fortunately, I had a lot of close ties in this town who arranged for me to be transported by ambulance back to Lima to be treated at a very good hospital, La Clínica Ricardo Palma, which in my opinion, is a hospital that will rival any hospital in the U.S. The medical staff was absolutely superb, although sometimes I think they gave me a little too much attention. It was also a good thing I had Access America Travel Insurance because I learned that my intestines were infected and I was to be hospitalized for five or six days. It could have been much longer had I not insisted on an early discharge. I was determined to finish out the rest of my vacation, and I did; contrary to doctor's orders. I spent the rest of my vacation at 75% of my full strength, spending a lot of time between resting between having fun.

Last Day in Hospital
My last day in Lima's Ricardo Palma Hospital.

Were it not for travel insurance, I would have had to pay over $4,000 out of pocket or I could have died from lack of proper treatment. Access America Travel Insurance was able to work out a billing arrangement where all expenses were paid. Access America gave me even further comfort by assigning me a case manager who followed up more than once with phone calls to my hospital room to check on my progress.

Go figure, I was so tempted to use the insurance money for something else and am glad I didn't. If you love to travel, don't test your luck; you never know when it's going to run out----Get Travel Insurance!

3 comments:

  1. Hello friend,

    Travel insurance is most important part for your travelling and it helps especially if you have a medical emergency on your trip, or if you have to cancel your trip in advance due to a death in the family.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Travel insurance (also called travel protection) is specially designed to address the situations and risks involved in travel, it provides coverage from the moment you leave, to the moment you return to your home.

    ReplyDelete
  3. OMG! Bill,

    What experience to have on your first week of a 30 day trip.

    To enter the Vacation Getaway Disaster Contest:
    Go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Skychi-Travels/108728319184530
    Please put a link to this blog post on my facebook fan page and add a photo of yourself.

    Wow! What a close call.

    ReplyDelete

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