DEAR JANE: My parents cut me off while I was traveling in Europe because I used their credit card to pay MEDICAL bills — now I'm stranded

Dear Jane,

My parents completely cut me off because I used their credit card to pay medical bills while traveling abroad – and now I'm stuck with no one to turn to.

I've been traveling around Europe for the past few months after deciding to take some time off from university and ended up getting into a car accident while sitting in the back of a taxi in Prague.

I went to the hospital and was diagnosed with a broken rib and a concussion, and ended up spending a few days there. I didn't want to worry my parents, so I thought I'd call them when I was free and on the road again.

In full transparency, I have had some problems with drugs in the past and have ended up in the hospital for much more serious reasons, and I knew that if I told them where I was, they would think that was what happened in this case.

The problem is that I don't have travel insurance – and when I wanted to leave the hospital I got a huge bill.

My parents gave me a credit card for emergencies, so I used that to pay the hospital bill. I thought I'd explain it to them afterwards.

Well, I didn't even have a chance to answer the phone before my dad called me to ask why he'd received an alert saying $28,000 had been charged to the card. He literally spat in anger – and, as I predicted, when I tried to explain what had happened, he immediately started accusing me of using again.

He said he had reached the end of his life, that this was the final straw, and that he and my mother had decided that I could no longer rely on their money to finance my “life-destroying habits.” He canceled the credit card and has now stopped the reimbursement that funded my trip.

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I tried to send pictures of my injuries, I said I will get a doctor to talk to them but he doesn't want to hear a reason.

I'm pretty much out of money now and it looks like I'll have to cut my trip short and head home… but how can I even face my mom and dad knowing what they think of me?

By,

A total wreck

Dear A Total Wreck,

I'm sorry you had a car accident in Prague, but – apologies for being so tough – you have some serious parenting to do.

Even though you are in college, you have chosen to take time off, and your parents are financing this amazing trip. I'm not sure why they funded it instead of you getting a job and working to fund your own travel, but I understand their anger.

And I also understand your reluctance to tell them, given the unfortunate circumstances you have found yourself in in the past.

Part of the problem as a teenager is the lack of development of the frontal lobes. This is why teens make bad choices and act impulsively. Assuming that you would explain a hospital stay at a later date was a poor choice indeed.

But it also seems like a pretty bad choice to me that your parents finance such a trip.

Either way, you need to grow up now and take responsibility for your own life.

If I were you, I would get a job and sit down with your parents to work out a payment plan where you can contribute to this bill.

I'm so sorry this bill is as big as it is, but the most mature thing you can do is start figuring out how to pay your parents back, and prove to them that you're not a selfish, unappreciative child, but a grown-up adult.