Cruise medical crisis on Reflection (our experience)

I am writing this from a hospital in Fort Lauderdale, my father had a medical crisis aboard the Celebrity Reflection on October 25th. I am posting their experience because the information might be helpful to others.

911 on the Celebrity Reflection

On October 17th my parents Barbara & Ron boarded the Celebrity Reflection for a two week transatlantic cruise from Rome to Fort Lauderdale. They had a great time the first week and sent me updates by iMessage. However, on Saturday October 25th my mom woke up to my father asking for help. He had collapsed getting up from the bed and was still on the floor. My Mom couldn't get him up and he was too weak to do it himself so she called the ships emergency number for help.

He was taken to the infirmary, where the doctors thought he might have pneumonia, his blood oxygen was very low and they put him on antibiotics and steroids. I'm not sure why they didn't put him on oxygen, but they nebulized him to try and loosen the mucus in his lungs and ultimately get the oxygen levels in his blood closer to normal. They had to do this 3 times a day, to keep him stable. The next port was St. Kitts two days later, but the infirmary didn’t feel that the hospital in St. Kitts would be a good choice for my father’s serious condition. When the ship docked in St. Maarten Tuesday morning they took him off the ship by ambulance and transported him to nearby St. Maarten Medical Center (http://www.smmc.sx/).

Evacuation in St. Maarten

My Mom called me in Toronto (Ontario, Canada – our home) from the hospital in St. Maarten, and brought me up to date. She didn’t tell me much about the hospital but she mentioned that she had to give them an $1800 deposit from her credit card, as well as pay separately for any lab work. Ultimately, she had to leave him in the emergency department while she went back to the ship and retrieved their luggage and other belongings – they wouldn’t be getting back on the ship. I started calling the insurance company about the travel medical insurance and started looking for flights so I could join them.

My Mom called me from the ship when she was gathering her luggage, and told me that the ship was finding a hotel for her for the night and gave her contact information for their port agents that could also assist her with arranging transportation to the hospital. Someone would take her to and from the hotel and the hospital for $15 each way. I asked her about the hospital and she said there were a lot of flies around him and that he was in a ward room that opened directly to the outside. I was starting to feel really uneasy, and brought up the fact that he may have to be evacuated to Florida to a better hospital. She sounded scared and said she didn’t think he was well enough to be moved.

The insurance company called me to tell me that they had talked to the doctors at the St. Maarten hospital and she described the course of treatment and said that it was the opinion that he should stay there overnight and they would re-evaluate in the morning. The described treatment didn't sound that different than what the hospital infirmary had been doing to keep him going until better care could be found. I asked the insurance company to look in to it further and get hard facts and specific numbers like blood pressure, heart rate, blood O2 level etc.

Getting to Fort Lauderdale

My husband and brother wanted me to go to them right away, but I honestly didn't know where they would be as my gut was telling me that he needed better care than he could get in St. Maarten. I looked up flights for both St. Maarten and Florida’s cruise hubs, but had to wait for the insurance company to call me back. It seemed like forever (it wasn’t). When they called back they said he was on 12 Litres of O2 and still having trouble breathing. They had actually called the ship and got the medical report from Celebrity’s infirmary and agreed with me that the course of treatment the St. Maarten doctors had planned was too similar to the care he got on the ship. Now having new concrete medical data about his condition they were changing the course of action. They want to get him out immediately but the St. Maarten airport was closed until 7am. There would be an emergency flight with two nurses, one doctor, and two pilots to take them to Fort Lauderdale Florida. The Insurance company had an arrangement with Broward Health Medical Center (formally known as Broward County General Hospital http://www.browardhealth.org/BHMC ) and would be taking him there. At 9:45 pm I informed my mother that she had to be at the hospital by 7 am for the flight and she had to call the port authority and get them to take her luggage (and Dad’s scooter) and ship it back to Canada as she would only be allowed one small bag on the medical flight.

My husband helped me throw 4 days’ worth of clothes into a bag while I booked an Air Canada flight to Fort Lauderdale, and found a place to stay near the hospital they had chosen. I went to bed at 2 am for 5 hours and then my husband drove me to the airport and I caught the 10:45am flight to Lauderdale. I was at the hospital by 2:30 pm, about 2 hours after my Mom and Dad arrived at the Hospital. When I got there Mom filled me in on some more details she hadn’t yet told me. She said that a nurse told her that if we hadn’t gotten him out of there, he would have “pooped out”. My Mom didn’t ask what that meant but the look in her eyes told me I’d made the right call.

She said that the doctor in St. Maarten was angry that he was being evacuated and wanted to know whose idea it was. He said that they needed to talk and took her to a utility room where they would have “privacy”. He told her that he was independent from the hospital and that she needed to pay him $375 cash before she could go. She said she didn’t have that much American but could give him some American and some Canadian. He accepted the arrangement and actually wrote out a hand written invoice on a piece of paper when she insisted on a receipt (which we still have).

She said the flight team intubated him and sedated him before transit. Mom had only a few minutes to tell my Dad what was going on, before the flight’s medical team took over. She said they were fantastic, and she couldn’t say enough good things about the flight medical team. She also praised Celebrity for their medical care and the other help and arrangements they assisted with.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you

Ironically every time we cruise out of Fort Lauderdale (which is most of the time), we stay at the Embassy Suites on 17th Street which is located less than a mile from Broward Health Medical Center. One of my closest friends Pat Probert, is also the travel agent who organizes a cruise for a group of us called “The Bob Family” (long story as to why), and for 13 years had booked between 50 and 150 of us (many of them friends) into the Embassy Suites for one or two nights before our annual group cruise. I could only get a room there for two nights, because they were sold out on the weekend. I would just have to figure the rest out later. On the way to the Airport I called my friend Pat and he said, “Let me call them.” Long story short, the Embassy Suites has gone above and beyond for us. We've been here 10 days so far, and they extended our stay at a rate they didn't have to give us nor did we ask for, and they drive us back and forth to the hospital. Many of the staff remember us and ask about Dad every day when we get back to the hotel from the Hospital. They gave us free Wi-Fi so we could stay in touch with the rest of the family in Toronto. They have been truly incredible, and I can’t say enough about how much it means to my mom and I. The Embassy Suites was already my favorite hotel because of the large suites they have, the included breakfast with everything you could possibly want, and complimentary cocktail hours in the evening, but now it takes on a whole new meaning as we don’t have to leave the hotel. We are exhausted at the end of the day and we can get all our food at the hotel. We are so glad the hotel restaurant serves excellent nutritious meals which is so important, especially since the first day we got here my mother came down with a cold and ultimately laryngitis. We had to stay strong for my Dad.

The hospital has given him amazing care as well and we feel he is in good hands. It’s a roller coaster ride as he seems to take two steps forward and one step backwards. We were so excited last night because he seemed to be coming back to us and was finally able to communicate more easily with us. They had taken him off the vent but during the night his lungs took a turn for the worse and they had to re-intubate him. The doctors are still confident they can get him stable enough to go home and ultimately recover but it seems to be a delicate balance between his lungs, heart, and lungs and the treatment for one is often not good for the other.

Where we are now

We are told we will probably be here another week. We have a family business that was born from the love they had for their hobby and thus many of our customers are also our friends, so I have been posting updates on our business website. I’m also hoping that our customers will understand if there is a delay or change in our normal level of service while my Mom and I are in Florida at my Dad’s bed side. You may have met them on their cruise or any of the other many cruises they have taken. After being married for 52 years and working together every day for 20 years, they are often described as “so cute”, and people are often drawn to them. If you did, your good thoughts/prayers are appreciated.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading and if you have any questions I’ll try and answer them. I’m not telling people not to cruise but I hope this account will encourage everyone to have travel insurance (especially my fellow Canadians who aren't used to factoring in financial variables into medical decisions).

my parents

Linda Wilson Wall

* updates at danceplus.com

We wanted to make sure our luggage was back in Toronto, so upon checking it turns out that the agent in St. Maarten still has it! DHL refused it so he did nothing. We called Celebrity and they are trying to get it back on one of their ships. A RCL ship is in St. Maarten on Monday but the ship won't be in Fort Lauderdale until Saturday and unless we go to the port and retrieve it we won't get it until the following Tuesday.

I was really hoping I'd be home then...

Good luck to your Dad. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family for a full and speedy recovery.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this when you are experiencing such a difficult time. It will help many people in deciding whether to buy travel insurance or not, and gives such a clear idea of the hard decisions and the many unknowns that occur when the unthinkable happens. It sounds like Celebrity and your insurance company, as well as the hotel and hospital have been outstanding.

Our prayers and thoughts are with you and your dad. I hope he is home soon and this is all nothing but a bad memory.

If you have time, when all is well again, it would be great to know about how much the evacuation costs, as well as other related costs, just to give people an idea of why insurance is so valuable.

Wishing your dad a speedy recovery!

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Thanks for your good wishes. Maybe I'm crazy but I actually believe that the more people rooting for us the better.

Regarding costs:

I called the insurance company today to make sure we wern't running out of coverage, and the estimates I was given from them and my Mom's estimates are below.

On the ship: $500 - $1000 for the infirmary

St. Maarten Hospital: about $2500 in total

St. Maarten hotel and transportation: $200

Medivac: between 15,000 & $25,000

Florida hotel, meals so far: approximately $2500

Hospital: estimated at $100,000 so far

And we are going to need some clothes before we wear what we have too many times and people start avoiding us.

Thanks for writing that up, not for the the advice on travel insurance, nor the more important fact that sometimes a phonecall can mean a lot.

I wish your dad, you and your family the very best!

Thank you for posting your experience. My thoughts and prayers are with your father and your family.

We were also on this cruise. Not sure if we met your parents, but wish your father a quick and complete recovery.

There was a "cold" virus going around on the ship. Many people coughing, and I know of at least one person that it progressed to bronchitis. Yet, I continue to see people who either do not care about hygiene or don't know better. I saw a person pick up with their fingers a piece of bread from the buffet and then put it back. Then there was a guy coughing up a storm who was blowing his nose and stuffing the Kleenex between the cushions of those large pool beds located by the outside pool - I assume to gather up later, but leaving the active germs. Several people coughing into the cloth napkins and wiping their noses, then leaving the napkins for the staff to pick up. Of course, there is the ever present people that walk out of the bathroom without washing their hands. I saw one guy actually confront another outside a bathroom, asking him why he did not wash his hands. :D

So, not surprised your dad had respiratory issues and your mom came down with a cold. You were smart to push the insurance company on the treatment plan, and they were smart to have insurance. Medical care in the islands cannot ever compare to large metro areas. Even though Celebrity provided outstanding care, there is no substitute for an acute care hospital. We had several medical emergencies on this cruise. One never knows.

Please keep us posted on your father's progress, our prayers are with him.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family, for a full recovery.

Thank you for posting this, particularly with so many details. I think it is all too common that people on vacation are so happy to forget the cares at home that they also forget that they are leaving the good care at home behind. If you have a medical crisis onboard or on one of these islands life can become very difficult, if not hazardous.

Travel insurance is always wise for everyone (even though I confess I do not always buy it - shame on me), but certainly the older one gets the more important it is. It is also one reason I cringe when I read about people in these types of ports engaging is risky sports or activities. Ok, I confess, I personally am not a big risk taker to begin with, but the facts are if you get badly hurt or sick even on one of the nicer more modern islands like St. Maarten you will not get the same level of medical care you could find at home - not by a long shot. It could be the difference between life and death. Stuff happens no matter where you go. On one of my Alaska cruises, the Princess ship next to us had a helicopter crash on one of their shore excursions, with passengers and crew dying. In a very freakishly weird (and sad) coincidence, when I got back to the office I found out the passenger was one of the senior managers I had worked with at my company. Just mentioning it because it's another example that stuff can happen anywhere and we need to prepare as best we can.

I hope your father recovers quickly and you can all go home :)

It was incredibly generous and kind of you in what must be such a difficult time to make the effort to post and encourage others to buy travel insurance with good medical evacuation coverage. Your story is a vivid and compelling example of why it is necessary. I am so sad for your father and your family in having to go through this. Thank goodness you pushed on the evacuation and he is receiving good care in a location much better for all of you. Your family will be in my thoughts and am sending you the best of wishes for a full recovery for your father soon. Be sure to take care of yourself.

Praying for your family and sending positive thoughts your way. Take care, and thank you for sharing this eye-opening story during such a challenging time.

My best thoughts and prayers are with your dad and family. I can totally relate to what you experienced as we had a somewhat similar happening. My mom fell and broke her hip on Millennium and had to be medically evacuated off the ship and back to Ft Lauderdale. It's not an easy experience, by any means.

Linda, we were also on this cruise, and I recognize your parents from the photograph. I remember we had an emergency evacuation of a very ill gentleman requiring the ship to turn around and head back to Funchal for a helicopter to pick him up, but had no idea of your father's predicament. Thanks for letting us know. I sincerely hope that he will recover quickly. :)

Hoping all goes well for your parents and you...quite a scary ecperience..thank you for sharing it..glad so many were so helpful...

Did your parents have cruiseline or pvt co ins...? We are thinking that in the future we should buy sep evacuation ins from one of the companies that sell that.....

We are leaving on Reflection tom, and had bad resp colds about a month ago,,,hope we do not get it back again,..needed antibiotics to knock it out!

Sending good wishes your way!

We're on the Summit next month & are so pleased to hear how helpful Celebrity

was to your family. We wouldn't dare travel without insurance and hearing that they were quick to respond to your needs is very comforting to know. What an ordeal you've been thru… we send every possible good wish for a full

recovery for your Dad… and a big hug for you and your Mom.

Thanks for posting and kudos to you for being a wonderful advocate for your parents. Your persistence likely made a difference in your dad's outcome. This is a good lesson for all of us when faced with medical issues, to ask questions and advocate for ourselves and our family members when things don't seem right.

Hope is extubated soon and all are able to go home!

Linda,

Thank you for sharing.

I hope your father is doing well very soon so you and your mother can head home with him.

As well as he is being taken care of at Broward Health, I'm sure recovery will go quicker in familiar surroundings.

Mark

Thanks for your good wishes. Maybe I'm crazy but I actually believe that the more people rooting for us the better.

 

Regarding costs:

 

I called the insurance company today to make sure we wern't running out of coverage, and the estimates I was given from them and my Mom's estimates are below.

 

On the ship: $500 - $1000 for the infirmary

St. Maarten Hospital: about $2500 in total

St. Maarten hotel and transportation: $200

Medivac: between 15,000 & $25,000

Florida hotel, meals so far: approximately $2500

Hospital: estimated at $100,000 so far

 

And we are going to need some clothes before we wear what we have too many times and people start avoiding us.

Thank you--very eye-opening. Prayers for your dad and all of you.

Sincerely wish your father a speedy recovery. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences.

And a very big reminder to EVERYBODY that Travel Medical Insurance is for the unexpected. Nobody plans on having an emergency while on vacation. The few hundred dollars is a much better price than the $140,000 plus and growing cost of emergency medical treatment.

Again, hope your dad gets better soon!

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Prayers to your family at this difficult time. Thank you so much for this valuable information.

Hope your dad recovers soon.

Our prayers are with your family too. It's so good that your parents had cruise insurance, and they seem to have been treated very well by the insurance company. And Celebrity and Embassy Suites also deserve kudos.

But things might have worked out even better had your parents also joined MedjetAssist. For a reasonable annual fee they add evacuation by air medical transport services to the hospital of the member's choice in their home country and other benefits. For us, that would bring us straight home to NY. For your parents, straight to Toronto. [i checked, the basic membership is available to residents of the United States, Canada and Mexico.]

We joined on the basis of solid recommendations from Cruise Critic posters, including their reports of good experiences using the promised benefits. [Thankfully we haven't had occasion to test out the benefits ourselves.]

Once again, we're praying for a complete recovery and a return to cruising!

Wishing your dad a speedy recovery.