Pain. Agony gripped her hip as she lay on the bathroom floor.
All she was trying to do was figure out the Russian shower handles. Confounded things. And then the mat had gone one way and she had gone another, her head narrowly missing the toilet seat. But her hip connected with the floor.
Merle lay there calling for help until her husband helped her to the bed.
They were in a Russian town called Mougorob. Between St Petersburg and Moscow on a tour. Her husband, Tony tried to phone out from the room unsuccessfully. Merle survived on painkillers and got through that Saturday night somehow.
The next morning Tony met with the tour operator in the foyer of the hotel, where they managed to dial out to the insurance and medical assistance. They were told that Moscow would be a better place to receive the care that was needed. The tour was headed that way anyway. Merle, together with her painful hip, clambered back on the bus. It was an excruciating trip that lasted one day.
Once in Moscow, Merle was admitted to hospital on the Monday morning. It had been a long hall but at last she received the attention she needed. They allowed Tony to move into the hospital to be with her the next day. After figuring out what would be best, to have the hip replacement operation in Russia or in SA, they decided to go ahead with the operation two days later.
About two weeks later they returned to SA, accompanied by a doctor on the airplane. This was also a long trip via Dubai and Cape Town before they returned home to East London.
A terrible ordeal it was for both of them, but the important lesson they took away from this experience was: travel insurance is just not negotiable. You simply cannot afford to go overseas without it; in fact it was a compulsory portion they had to pay for as part of their tour through the travel agent. Everything was paid for by the insurance. They only had to pay in an excess of R1000.
It’s very easy to buy Medifin Travel Insurance. In just a few clicks you can go online, get a quote and buy your insurance policy. Within minutes the policy documents will be emailed to you.
MediFin has Medifin Travel insurance which will protect you in a medical emergency and cover the loss of your personal effects. You can choose from a premium to a basic insurance cover when travelling. Find out more here.
Your holiday should be a carefree time to relax. You deserve that. And when that mat slips from underneath your feet, you will have the security of knowing that all your medical expenses will be taken care of.
This post is sponsored by Medifin.
This post is such an eye opener! I have not travelled outside SA yet but we are planning to. Thanks for this. Sorry about your mom in law’s injury. I hope she got better.