Emergency Assistance Plus
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The Smartest Thing I Ever Did

Melanie & Bill C., Arizona


Published on May 29th, 2018

My husband and I were celebrating our anniversary in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Everything was perfect. Beautiful resort, gorgeous sunset and a delicious dinner. As we left the restaurant, we were on our way to listen to some Caribbean music with a stop at the ladies room first.

Then next thing I knew, I slipped and fell to the floor. I heard myself scream and the pain in my shoulder was unbearable.  I was taken by ambulance to the nearest hospital in Montego Bay. I was seen by a resident physician in the ER and x-rays were ordered. After viewing them they called for a surgeon and we were told I fractured the humerus in my right shoulder and the tibia and fibula in my left leg. I was admitted to the hospital for surgery the next morning.

Bill and Melanie reflect back on their experience with EA+.

 

At this point my husband got in touch with EA+. While awaiting surgery, the surgeon placed my left leg in a cast for stabilization and advised us there might be considerable bleeding and he put in an order for blood since the hospital didn’t have any. It had to be ordered from Kingston Jamaica. After waiting for two days, he told us the blood wasn’t available.

Emergency Assistance Plus kept in touch with the hospital and were advised the surgery wouldn’t be performed. EA+ arranged for air ambulance to transport my husband and I to the nearest U.S. hospital that could perform the required surgery. We were flown to Broward Medical Center in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

We left Jamaica Monday morning and arrived at the hospital 3 hours later and were met by an ambulance and transported to the hospital. I had surgery Tuesday evening and EA+ was in constant contact with my husband. I needed to stay for 4 days after surgery for recovery and treatment.

When it was time to return home, since I was stable, I could fly commercial however, it was medically necessary for a nurse escort to accompany me. EA+ arranged for a nurse escort to meet with us on Saturday and fly home to Arizona with us on Sunday. The trip home was seamless. We were lucky to have Tracie for my nurse and she handled every aspect of the flight including checking us in and arranging for an isle wheelchair to get on and off the plane. Once we landed in Phoenix, I was transported to a rehab facility, again arranged by EA+.

I’m home now, going to out-patient therapy twice a week and getting better every day. I can’t say enough about EA+. The smartest thing I ever did was contact EA+ for travel protection.

I’ve told all my friends and family (and even people I didn’t know who would stop me in the store to ask what happened) about EA+. If you travel, and we all do, even if it’s to visit children and grandchildren in a different state, the cost of getting home if you get injured or ill is expensive. This is one less worry for us.

Thank you, EA+ (and Tracie!)

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The stories herein are true member experiences. The names of the individuals and certain details have been changed to protect member privacy. EA+ offers a variety of membership plans with different service levels. The services described are based on the specific EA+ membership plan that these members purchased. Please review your Member Guide carefully to understand all services available to you, as well as any rules and regulations.