A British grandmother who fell seriously ill during a dream holiday to Disney World faces being trapped in the US for Christmas after failing to pay for travel insurance.
Patricia Bunting has run up a bill of tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills, leaving her family to ask strangers to help fund her air ambulance home.
The 76-year-old grandmother from Wigan is now stranded in a Florida hospital after falling critically ill during her trip.
Her lack of travel insurance has left her family grappling with mounting medical bills and an impossible financial burden to bring her home.
The hospital has helped the family with low-cost accommodation in a pavilion on the campus.
Bunting’s daughter, Emma, who did not join the initial trip, flew to Florida to be by her mother’s side. She described her mother as terrified of dying in a foreign hospital, far from her family.
“She’s scared of passing away in a US hospital far from her family,” Emma said.
“I want nothing more than to have Mum home for Christmas so she’s surrounded by all the love of her family.”
About the medical bills, she added: “I feel anxious. I don’t know how much this will cost, but I know she needs this care,” she said.
The family have also since launched a fundraiser to help raise the necessary funds to have her flown home.
So far, they have raised more than £15,000 of their £50,000 target from well-wishers.
Her mother, who suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and uses a walker, had saved for two years to join her grandson and two sons on what she believed would be her final trip to the States, a country she considers her “happy place.”
She arrived in Florida on October 31 for the holiday of a lifetime, but her health deteriorated just days before her scheduled return flight.
On November 23, after three weeks in the Florida sun, Bunting began complaining of exhaustion. Later that day, one of her sons found her unconscious in the bathroom of their accommodation. She was rushed to Orlando Health Dr P Phillips Hospital, where she was diagnosed with COVID-19 and pneumonia.
Bunting spent five days in intensive care, refusing intubation out of fear she wouldn’t survive the procedure.
Her condition remains critical more than two weeks later, requiring constant oxygen and heavy medication.
While Bunting had purchased travel insurance for all 20 of her previous visits to the States, the cost this time was too high.
Due to her existing health conditions, she was quoted $3,000 (£2,352) for coverage – an amount she could not afford.
The decision has left her family facing the financial nightmare of paying for her extensive medical care and finding a way to bring her home for NHS treatment.
According to an air ambulance provider contacted by the family, the cost of a medically assisted flight – complete with a bed, oxygen, and medical personnel—could exceed $53,000.
The family has contacted the British consulate in Miami for assistance but says they have received little support.
The claim officials reportedly asked how the family planned to pay Bunting’s growing medical bills but offered no solutions.
Bunting’s story highlights the staggering cost of medical care in the States, where health emergencies can financially devastate uninsured individuals.
According to the Peterson Center on Healthcare and KFF, the average health spending per person in the US was $12,555 (£9,845) in 2022.
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