A Texas tourist was left paralyzed after a wave broke his neck during a dream vacation in Mexico. Her boyfriend is accusing a local hospital of “medical extortion” for demanding thousands of dollars upfront for life-saving treatment.
Jared Hill and his partner Justin Rayford were vacationing at a resort in February when a wave washed them away, fracturing three vertebrae in their necks. KHOU reported.
“He instantly became paralyzed and drowned in the water. I saw it happening and had to run over and pull him out of the water,” Rayford told the outlet. Ta.
He said he rushed to Hill’s side and was told by the resort manager that an ambulance was on the way, but he waited an hour before calling for help himself.
Three hours after the freak accident, Hill finally arrived at the hospital, enduring excruciating pain.
“They looked at the CT scan and said, ‘We can’t take him.’ If we try to take him, he’s going to die,” Rayford told KHOU. Told.
Two days later, after visiting three hospitals, Hill underwent her first surgery in Mexico, but was told she would have to pay more than $20,000 out of pocket, the newspaper reported.
Rayford told Inside Edition Digital that without a financial agreement, no one would even remove his partner from the ambulance.
“A doctor came out and said, ‘We’re not going to take you out of the ambulance unless you pay us $5,000,'” he told the outlet.
Rayford called this “medical extortion.” NewsNation Now reported.
“Some people think you’re in the hospital. [to] We were trying to help people and save lives, and that wasn’t happening,” he told NewsNation Prime about the accident near Tulum.
Hill has since been transferred to Texas, where he continues to receive treatment.
“I consider myself luckier than most people because…I was able to raise the ransom money,” Rayford told the outlet.
“Now, what about other people? Is their loved one going to die like this?” he said.
But NewsNation’s national security contributor said this practice is not uncommon.
“This is not extortion. This is not bribery. This is how Mexico does business,” Tracy Walder said, adding that Mexico’s national health system provides free medical care to citizens and residents of government-run hospitals. He added that he is doing so.
“But there are also private hospitals. The way they do business is they actually ask you to pay up front,” she told NewsNation, adding that expecting other countries’ health systems to operate the same way as the U.S. ” It’s wrong,” he added.
Walder said when planning a trip abroad, people can use the SOS app, which allows them to contact emergency services directly wherever they are.
Hill’s GoFundMe page had raised more than $65,000 in donations as of Tuesday morning.
“On Valentine’s Day, Jared underwent a 12-hour surgery to fuse his spine and stabilize his condition, saving his life,” the fundraiser’s post said.
“Thanks to the tenacity of doctors, friends, and family, after seven days of intensive care, Jared was successfully medically evacuated from Mexico to the United States. He is currently in a neurological intensive care unit at Houston Hermann Memorial Hospital. “He is in the treatment room receiving the best possible care in preparation for his next surgery once his body is stable enough,” the post said.
Rayford added his own message to the site.
“Jared is incredibly strong. Everyone is amazed at his progress and the small victories we are having every day,” he wrote.
“Miracles do happen, and when we think of Jared, we should all remember that, keep that in mind, and send him our prayers and positive energy,” Raiford added.
