After thinking she just had ‘Bali belly’ one woman was left hospitalised in Bali after her holiday of dreams was ruined – and had to fork out thousands for ‘treatment ‘
A couple’s dream holiday resulted in a holiday from hell after falling ill while in Bali. Nicola Fox and her partner Kayla Heagney had spent a staggering $8000 (£4,000) on their trip of a lifetime for a 30th birthday, only for Kayla to end up hospitalised on the island and pinned to her bed.
The 29-year-old Aussie, who had travelled from Newcastle to Bali with Nicola and her two-year-old son initially thought she had ‘Bali belly’ and was suffering with stomach cramps and didn’t think too much about them.
But then she was admitted to hospital with severe abdominal pain – and was put in the intensive care unit with acute pancreatitis and put on a feeding tube.
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Kayla said after that it all “just happened really quickly” and claims she was being told that if she didn’t have the tube put in her stomach it would be the “worst outcome” – which made her believe she could die.
Things got even worse, and Nicola claimed Kayla was “pinned” to the hospital bed at one point. “They pinned her down on the bed and she was vomiting everywhere. Vomit was coming out of her nose through the tube, it was coming from her mouth. The doctor and nurse just threw paper towels at me and left, I had to clean the vomit off her chest,” Nicola told A Current Affair .
Admitting she thought she was “going to die”, Kayla was desperate to get back to Australia and was desperate to get home as they were starting to face huge financial costs. The hospital told Kayla it would cost $1500 per night, plus other fees, so Nicola called their insurance company who told her it would take at least 24 hours to investigate to ensure Kayla’s condition wasn’t pre-existing.
However Kayla’s condition was worsening while they awaited news of whether she was covered or not, and when a doctor from NSW advised them to fly home, a doctor in Bali said their travel insurance would be void if they did so.
Kayla claimed she was led to believe she wasn’t going to make it, and was pleading to see a doctor or a nurse who “never came”, and had no option but to go against the travel insurance advice and fly back to Australia,
When she returned back to Australia, doctors told Kayla a lot of the treatment she had received in Bali was “unnecessary, and that crucial hydration measures weren’t taken.
The couple are now warning other travellers and Nicola said: “What we experienced in the hospital is definitely not a reflection of the Bali that we know and love … our whole aim is to educate others. I think it’s just really making sure that you are so stringent with insurance. I thought that buying a comprehensive cover was enough.
“We were fortunate that we did have a little bit of money to fall back on, but that money quickly ran out … get the right cover.”
The couple’s case has since been investigated and they have been paid by Budget Direct in full within 48 hours of the case being received, however an unhappy Nicola said, “there was no compassion”.
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