Help Needed for Heart Attack Bills and Recovery

Life in Mexico is good until a medical emergency occurs and there is no time to make it to the States where care is primarily covered under your insurance.

My mom had a major heart attack last Sunday evening.

With 99% of her coronary artery blocked, time was of the essence in assuring that her heart did not stop. I acted as her ambulance, rushing to her house and then to the local hospital where we were met with immediate care.

I have been learning Spanish and luckily many in the amazing team of doctors and nurses speak some English to facilitate care as well. This, in conjunction with a few friends who are native speakers and truly my saviors, enabled us to discuss the options, process and care.

I have heavily wavered justifying reaching out for financial help in this capacity. But pride aside, I feel I must do whatever I can to prevent an even worse situation developing.

On top of the emotional trauma both of us endured through this situation, the financial side of things was and still is very messy and beyond stressful. My mom did get the critical care she needed to save her life, which is most important; however, this came at the expense of a financially uncertain future.

This is a prime example and a wake-up call to make sure that some sort of backup plan is in place for health insurance and emergency funds for those living elsewhere, as her U.S. coverage is not recognized here. To make the choice to live in here, is making the choice to take yourself away from covered (or at least partially covered) health care provided by your primary country.

After scraping together funds and causing hardship to family members who do not have expendable money, this debt primarily fell on me and now the thought of the interest that could compile on top of this is suffocating.

While the cost of living is indeed much lower here, our financial situation is far from carefree. In addition to the debt already accumulated, there will be future rechecks, medications, etc. and other unknowns.

It is still undetermined what the aftermath of this medical emergency will entail and where we go from here.

However, I need to continue helping my mom in any way that I can and there are currently no backup resources for her nor I, to lean on.

We are asking for help in covering a portion, from whoever may be able and willing.

Anything that is gifted will help us greatly in moving forward from this and give us some security for the journey ahead.

Thank you.