Medical Costs For A Triple Leg Fracture

Hello,

In a bit of a freak accident Stacy Pettigrew managed to fracture both her tibia and fibia in three places, two of which fractures will need surgery to resolve, after falling down two stairs. Anyone who knows how physically fit Stacy is will know how hard it is to imagine her injuring herself by doing something so innocuous but here we are.

In Costa Rica we can access the local healthcare system but at a cost for anything major. This was no problem until a triple leg fracture happened.

Stacy has spent her first days in hospital sat on a trolley in the admissions section - essentially the reception area of the A&E - unable to sleep or bathe. There is no guarantee of when or even if a bed on a ward will be available.

Unfortunately in the hospital she is in, they have advised she is unlikely to receive the surgery she needs for a up to a month. This means a month of the fracture not being fixed and Stacy being in severe pain and unable to move her leg. Although her leg is immobilised in a cast, an open fracture in a leg for a month carries a various health risks if left untreated, as does spending a month in a hospital bed.

It also means one month of bed pans and adult diapers, as she is unable to use the toilet because they unable to manoeuvre Stacy to the toilet while her leg needs to remain immobilised. Again, this carries its own potential health risks as well as being incredibly humiliating.

The hospital is an hour from our home and means lots of travelling for Nick each day as well as Stacy feeling very isolated. It also means prolonging the time Stacy is unable to do her job as a personal trainer, or even do her own weight training, which as many of you will know is like her own personal therapy, so there is an impact on her mental health as well as her physical health.

There is the option for receiving surgery this week, but that means travelling to San Jose and is set to cost $17,246. As you can imagine, we do not have $17,246 lying about the place and could barely manage to scrape together $172.

Even if Stacy waited in agony for a month in the current hospital, there would be a bill afterwards that we have no hope of paying that would run into thousands of dollars. We've been advised that a lengthy stay in the public hospital before surgery could even mean that it ends up costing more than the private surgery.

Every penny raised will go toward paying off this massive debt that we have no hope of clearing otherwise. If by some miracle we manage to exceed our target, this money will be used for physiotherapy to help Stacy recover.

Whatever you can spare will be greatly appreciated and if you can't afford to donate, please let others know about this page who might be able to.

Thank you.

(Please note, the location is set to Stacy's home town as there is no option to set the location as Costa Rica. Copies of the private medical bill are available on request)