A family of a woman from England in the United Kingdom was left mulling their next steps after she fell sick while on holiday in Kenya leading to the family incurring a £80,000 (Ksh13 million) hospital bill.
This is after the woman developed liver failure while on a family holiday in Mombasa. Typically, the family would have used their travel insurance, which is mandatory for individuals when visiting foreign countries. However, the lady failed to disclose the pre-existing condition when filling out insurance forms thus leading to the insurance failing to cover the bill.
Lee Flint and her husband Jack Flint flew out to Kenya on September 16 to continue their lifelong charity work there as well as to celebrate Jack’s cancer-free diagnosis.
However, a few weeks after arriving in the East African country, the 77-year-old Lee was found unresponsive in her bed and was rushed to the Intensive Care Unit at a Mombasa hospital.
A photo of tourists snorkeling at Wasini Island in Kenya
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Kenya Safari
Doctors told Jack that Lee had suffered grade four kidney and liver failure and that her organs were shutting down and she remained in a critical condition with internal bleeding and blood poisoning.
After the unravelling of the development, it emerged that Lee had taken a blood test and scan months before the trip after developing a slight ailment but kept it to herself as she did not want to stress her husband who had endured a tough time undergoing chemotherapy for his cancer treatment.
While speaking to National World, a British multimedia company, Lee’s son Jamie detailed the family’s predicament that led to his father setting up a GoFundMe page to raise funds that will aid in flying Lee home and foot the medical bill.
“After my dad had finished his chemotherapy and my mum was his main carer which took a lot out of her, they inevitably made a mistake on the insurance form. A few months before that my mum had been to the doctor’s for some blood tests. My mum didn’t want to stress my dad out, she kept it to herself,” Jamie stated.
“But in the meantime, she was becoming poorly and we didn’t realise. My dad was filling out the insurance form on his laptop and made a mistake and that’s why it’s invalid. It’s a living nightmare really,” he added.
“One day she was not responsive in her bed and they had no idea what happened. She has kidney and liver failure so her organs are shutting down. I know she’s got an internal bleed. She had blood poisoning and that’s what was causing her to fall in and out of consciousness. I was heartbroken and felt completely helpless. I told my dad I have to come out there,” Jamie noted.
“He told me to sit tight at home. I kept myself busy by ripping their bathroom out, so I was going to put in a disabled shower. That’s when I thought they were coming home, but Mum has got worse and worse. I feel completely helpless, just because I am stuck in England,” Jamie lamented.
The family stated that they were not sure whether Lee was aware of her test results as she is unable to speak.
The couple had been doing charity work in Watamu, Kenya, for more than 30 years and tended to stay there for months at a time. This time, they arrived with 62 kilos of clothing and reading glasses to give to schools and orphanages.
Watamu boasts of being among the best beaches in Africa. The name, they say, translates to “sweet people”.
Magical Kenya