My holiday blunder cost me over £26,000 and we were there for less than a day
As she looked out over the Pacific Ocean, Alyssa Fuller, 37, couldn’t believe her luck.
“I was on the vacation of a lifetime with the man of my dreams,” the Minneapolis designer recalls.
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“I had no idea that within hours it would turn into a nightmare.”
It was October 2023 and Alyssa had just married Jeremy, now 38, a regional sales manager.
By the end of the night, Alyssa knew the excitement wasn’t over yet. Soon, the newlyweds would be honeymooning in Mexico.
“We had booked a luxury hotel with snorkeling and diving, and couldn’t wait to relax together,” she says
When we arrived at the hotel on Sunday evening, it was even better than expected.
“Our room had huge windows overlooking the ocean and we had our own hot tub. It was beautiful,” she recalls.
The next morning at 11am the couple went to the hotel pool.
“I saw it was raining, but that didn’t dampen my spirits. I couldn’t wait to get in the water,” she says.
“At noon, after swimming, I said to Jeremy, ‘Let’s go to the cabana on the beach.’
But when Alyssa stepped out of the pool and took a step, disaster struck.
“The floor was slippery from the rain that had been falling for hours before. One moment I was standing upright, the next my feet slipped and I fell to the floor,” she says.
“I knew right away that something terrible had happened to my left leg. I was in pain.”
As Alyssa lay on the floor in shock, she and Jeremy waited for the hotel doctor to arrive.
“The hours passed and all I could do was lie there, shivering and shaking in my bathing suit.”
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“I felt horrible and couldn’t believe this was happening. I should be having cocktails with my husband. Not lying on the floor in pain.”
Jeremy stood next to her as another guest fanned her.
Finally, Jeremy decided they couldn’t wait any longer. He had to take Alyssa to the hospital.
Then the couple discovered something shocking.
They thought that by booking with their credit card they would have good insurance if disaster struck, but medical problems were not covered.
“Just for the ambulance to take us to the hospital it cost us $900 (£700),” says Alyssa.
“They almost didn’t let Jeremy in, he had to squeeze in with me.
“I was so happy that he didn’t leave my side.
“It was so scary lying in the back on that little stretcher, in mortal fear, not being able to speak the language and having no idea what anyone was saying.”
The couple had to pay another $1,800 (£1,400) before they were even allowed to leave the hospital.
“But what choice did we have? And the news just kept getting worse and worse.
“After X-rays I was told that my bones were broken in three places, that my ankle was dislocated and that I had broken my left wrist.
“Four men came to ‘set’ my leg without any painkillers and we were then told the operation would cost $35,000 (£27,260).”
The couple simply didn’t have that much money.
All they could afford was the $3,200 (£2,492) entrance fee for the night, as they had nowhere else to go.
WHAT KIND OF TRAVEL INSURANCE DO YOU NEED?
The two main types of policies are single trip coverage and multiple trip coverage.
If you travel two or more times a year, continuous travel insurance is probably more cost-effective.
Also bear in mind that combining cover for your family or partner on a shared policy can be cheaper than taking out separate policies.
Whatever you decide, it’s important to realise that there are many things your trusted travel insurance won’t cover, especially if you’ve opted for a more basic policy.
Ceri McMillan from Go.Compare told The Sun: “Travel policies can vary widely. You need to choose the right one for you.
Be sure to read the fine print carefully before purchasing so you are aware of any exclusions.
“If you don’t know how much coverage you have until you file a claim, you’re likely to get a nasty, costly surprise.”
“I lay there in a panic and had no idea how we would get home or how I would get better. I couldn’t believe that this was going to be the best vacation of my life,” she says.
The next day, Alyssa and Jeremy found out they could pay for a Medivac flight back to the US, where Alyssa could have surgery.
“It would cost $17,500 (£13,630), but it was our only chance.
“But even that was terrible.
“We tried to get on a plane for four more days, every time we left the hospital we were turned back off the runway because something went wrong again.”
We also plan to take a second chance at the honeymoon at some point
Alyssa Fuller
Finally, four days and $34,000 (£26,480) later, they flew back to the US.
“I had spent less than 20 hours on the vacation of a lifetime before disaster struck,” says Alyssa.
“I’ve never been happier to be back in the US after a trip.”
Friends and family donated to a GoFundMe page to help them manage the enormous expenses.
Since then, Alyssa has undergone three surgeries and six months of physical therapy.
“Right now I can stand for a day, but the next day I’m exhausted,” she says.
But even after spending $34,000 (£26,480) on just 20 hours of holiday, the couple haven’t let that stop them.
“We went on a cruise to the Bahamas and Virgin Islands in January,” Alyssa adds.
“We also plan to take a second chance at the honeymoon at some point.”
But there’s one thing that’s always at the top of Alyssa’s vacation to-do list. “Good travel insurance! We’ll never go without it again.”
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