Patricia Bunting, a 76-year-old British grandmother has so far been trapped in the US for two weeks after contracting COVID-19 on her trip to Orlando, Florida without having any travel insurance.
The grandmother had decided on going to the US one last time with her grandchildren, with the country being her “happy place,” she had gone 20 times with travel insurance, but this time decided not to get it.
RELATED STORIES
Bunting decided not to pay the insurance
Although the British grandmother suffers a slew of pre-existing health conditions, including those in her chest and heart, she decided she didn’t want to pay between £3,000 and £6,000 (around $4000 and $8000) for travel insurance on her last trip to the US.
The grandmother contracted Covid
She had always purchased travel insurance for her trips to the US, but after deciding not to receive coverage this time, she contracted COVID-19.
Bunting has consequently been bedridden in hospital in the US, being unable to cover the medical bills required for her to fly back to the UK.
Bunting’s daughter set up a fundraiser
Knowing her sensitive health condition, Bunting refused intubation at the hospital for fear that she might not wake up.
As her medical bills rise by the day, her daughter at home has set up a fundraiser to pay for her mother’s trip back.
The trip home would be costly
To get back to the UK in her condition, the grandmother would have to fly with oxygen and medical assistance, which would cost over $30,000.
So far, Bunting’s daughter Emma was able to raise £14,000 ($17000) through the fundraiser.
Bunting suffers from several illnesses
The grandmother had saved up for over two years to be able to make the trip with her grandsons, taking it as one last journey to the country after learning she has both chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and atrial fibrillation (AF).
Both of these illnesses mean she has an unstable heart rate.
The grandmother also has trouble breathing
Bunting also has breathing difficulties that require her to use three inhalers, with her medical condition being so sensitive that she had been using a wheelchair and a walker during her trip around Florida.
Emma, her daughter, spoke to The Tampa Bay Times, saying her mother fears she will die away from home.
Emma wants her mother back home for Christmas
Speaking with the news outlet, the daughter said, “She’s scared of passing away in a US hospital far from her family.”
“I want nothing more than to have mum home for Christmas so she’s surrounded by all the love of her family,” she added.
Bunting had been in the intensive care unit
The grandmother had spent five days in the intensive care unit at Orlando’s Dr P Phillips Hospital before being found in the bathroom having passed out.
She was treated for COVID-19 and pneumonia and is now in the critical care unit.
Bunting was there with her sons and grandchildren
The grandmother, with three sons, a daughter, and two grandchildren, had to stay at the hospital while her sons and grandson flew back to the UK because they ran out of money.
Her daughter, Emma, flew from the UK to the US on December 7, a week after the others had left.
Emma is anxious about the situation
The daughter said the British Embassy in Miami could not provide any help on the situation, admitting she feels anxious about the bills.
Emma said her mother had always been “the glue that holds us together” so she’s incredibly worried for her mother’s health as well as the bills.
