Help Bring Kirsten Home After a Devastating Cruise Accident

What was supposed to be Kirsten’s first cruise turned into the worst experience of our lives.

On day three of our Carnival cruise, Kirsten was seriously injured during a rope swing excursion. Based on what we witnessed, a retrieval/tag line appears to have been improperly connected to the swing. As she swung out, the line tightened between her legs just before she dropped, causing a catastrophic injury.

At first, she thought it was only a scratch. She even walked back to our transportation trying to laugh through the pain.

Within hours, everything changed.

The swelling became severe, the pain became unbearable, and she eventually needed a wheelchair just to get back to our cabin. I called 911 from the ship, and she was rushed to the medical center where doctors treated her for hours. The swelling continued to worsen until it had reached roughly the size of a baseball.

The ship’s doctors gave us three options:

* Air evacuate to the United States

* Be taken to a hospital in Cozumel and figure out our own way home

* Remain in the ship’s medical facility for the rest of the cruise

We chose the air evacuation.

We were then told we needed a $20,000 deposit, another $30,000 upon arrival in the U.S., and had only a few hours to make that decision.

While waiting for evacuation, Kirsten spent approximately 26 hours in the ship’s medical facility, where charges alone reached around $3,500, not including physician services, medications, and procedures. During that time, her pain became so severe that she could barely move, and at one point the medical staff told me they were trying to keep her awake because she would stop breathing whenever she drifted off from the pain medication.

After hours of delays, she was finally transported by ambulance through severe weather to the airport, where a private medical jet flew us to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We are now away from home while she undergoes testing, treatment, and recovery.

We still have a long road ahead.

The financial impact has been overwhelming. Between emergency transportation, medical expenses, travel, lodging, lost income, and the unexpected costs of getting ourselves and our vehicle back home, the expenses continue to grow.

If you feel led to help, any amount—no matter how small—will go directly toward:

* Emergency medical expenses

* Air evacuation and transportation costs

* Hospital bills and follow-up care

* Travel and lodging while she recovers

* Getting us and our vehicle home safely

If you’re unable to donate, sharing this fundraiser and keeping Kirsten in your thoughts and prayers means just as much to us.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your kindness, support, and prayers during one of the hardest times we’ve ever faced.

— Blake & Kirsten