Tragedy in Tahiti
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As many of you may know I have had a 2 1/2 year battle with Breast Cancer. I am a Warrior and continue to fight the good fight. With 2 1/2 years of fighting on the physical side we have won the fight! On the financial side we have been able to manage with
payment plans to the hospitals and pay what we can pay. It's hasn't been easy, but being alive is worth it. Keeping up with the financial side of things seem trivial when you go through fighting for your life. Six weeks after my last surgery, we decided to take a vacation to celebrate my full recovery. We were going back to Tahiti, one of our favorite places. We were booked on a Windstar cruise over my husbands birthday. The cruise left from Papetee December 8th. We arrived in Moorea December 9 th. We rented scooters and 10 minutes into our departure. I lost control of my scooter and went down in the dirt and lava rock. The scooter fell on me and I hit a pole that was attached to a big rock. The scooter went flying my helmet went into the pole and my knee went into the rock.
When my husband was finally able to turn around he found me on the side of the road covered in blood dripping from my head, my arms and my legs. The ambulance arrived and took me to a medic station as there are no hospitals on the Island. They cleaned me up then rushed me back on the ambulance and transported me by ferry to get to the Hospital in Papeete. My husband by my side all I could remember was him telling me to keep my eyes open , I was in so much pain I just wanted to close my eyes. After arriving in Papeete they did surgery on my leg to try and clean out a hole I had to my bone . They took head scans and body scans. I had a concussion, 6 broken ribs, deep abrassions on my face, arms, and legs,
and a hole to my bone above my knee. I ended up getting a bad infection that could of turned out horrible , but they operated again and got the infection out. I spent our entire vacation in the hospital for 6 nights. My husband had to get a hotel and spent his time back and forth to the hospital each day in hopes they would realease me.
We would have been so lost without our advocate. Nobody spoke English , the nurses were all so caring but not being able to understand anyone was difficult.
I was finally able to go to the hotel with my husband. The day I got out of the hospital the cruise was over and back in Papeete and we were able to pick up our luggage, passports, and money we had on the ship. We had 1 more day before our flights to go home. Luckily they had 2 seats we could upgrade to so I could actually take that long flight with my injuries. It was so difficult but, we made it home. After many doctor appointments , my fiends visiting and helping, and going to the wound clinics it was about 12 weeks to recover once I got home.
After I started receiving the bills and the expenses of everything , it has become overwhelming. To this date we have $14,000.00 we have paid out for all our expenses during the week and getting home and have over thousands of dollars in medical bills. I am still waiting for the insurance companies to determaim what they will pay . But they are hashing out who is paying for what and my Travel insurance won't cover even a small portion of the medical. I am praying for a good outcome but I am not sure what will happen. This has also been a trying process.
With all the debt we have had and still have for my cancer treatments, I would of never considered a Go fund me account. Let's call it what it is Pride. This all feels so overwhelming I thought I would go ahead and try the Go Fund me account . Many of my friends have persuaded me in doing so. I have prayed about it lots and feel it is time. I have donated to many Go fund me accounts and it was a blessing for me to do so. So with my very long story made short , I would only ask you to give if you feel inspired to do so. Please feel free to share my story with friends and family . If I ever get my book written you will hardly believe the full version of this story. We had many miracles along the way, and for my cancer journey I have had many miracles. I am so thankful to still be here to share my story. This has been a long process of spending my time and energy healing.
This seems so delayed since the accident was in December however I have been spending much of my time and energy in Healing and working as much as I can. I also had no idea how much debt this would be. We THANK you in advance for your consideration in giving.
 for helping us.


payment plans to the hospitals and pay what we can pay. It's hasn't been easy, but being alive is worth it. Keeping up with the financial side of things seem trivial when you go through fighting for your life. Six weeks after my last surgery, we decided to take a vacation to celebrate my full recovery. We were going back to Tahiti, one of our favorite places. We were booked on a Windstar cruise over my husbands birthday. The cruise left from Papetee December 8th. We arrived in Moorea December 9 th. We rented scooters and 10 minutes into our departure. I lost control of my scooter and went down in the dirt and lava rock. The scooter fell on me and I hit a pole that was attached to a big rock. The scooter went flying my helmet went into the pole and my knee went into the rock.
When my husband was finally able to turn around he found me on the side of the road covered in blood dripping from my head, my arms and my legs. The ambulance arrived and took me to a medic station as there are no hospitals on the Island. They cleaned me up then rushed me back on the ambulance and transported me by ferry to get to the Hospital in Papeete. My husband by my side all I could remember was him telling me to keep my eyes open , I was in so much pain I just wanted to close my eyes. After arriving in Papeete they did surgery on my leg to try and clean out a hole I had to my bone . They took head scans and body scans. I had a concussion, 6 broken ribs, deep abrassions on my face, arms, and legs,
and a hole to my bone above my knee. I ended up getting a bad infection that could of turned out horrible , but they operated again and got the infection out. I spent our entire vacation in the hospital for 6 nights. My husband had to get a hotel and spent his time back and forth to the hospital each day in hopes they would realease me.
We would have been so lost without our advocate. Nobody spoke English , the nurses were all so caring but not being able to understand anyone was difficult.
I was finally able to go to the hotel with my husband. The day I got out of the hospital the cruise was over and back in Papeete and we were able to pick up our luggage, passports, and money we had on the ship. We had 1 more day before our flights to go home. Luckily they had 2 seats we could upgrade to so I could actually take that long flight with my injuries. It was so difficult but, we made it home. After many doctor appointments , my fiends visiting and helping, and going to the wound clinics it was about 12 weeks to recover once I got home.
After I started receiving the bills and the expenses of everything , it has become overwhelming. To this date we have $14,000.00 we have paid out for all our expenses during the week and getting home and have over thousands of dollars in medical bills. I am still waiting for the insurance companies to determaim what they will pay . But they are hashing out who is paying for what and my Travel insurance won't cover even a small portion of the medical. I am praying for a good outcome but I am not sure what will happen. This has also been a trying process.
With all the debt we have had and still have for my cancer treatments, I would of never considered a Go fund me account. Let's call it what it is Pride. This all feels so overwhelming I thought I would go ahead and try the Go Fund me account . Many of my friends have persuaded me in doing so. I have prayed about it lots and feel it is time. I have donated to many Go fund me accounts and it was a blessing for me to do so. So with my very long story made short , I would only ask you to give if you feel inspired to do so. Please feel free to share my story with friends and family . If I ever get my book written you will hardly believe the full version of this story. We had many miracles along the way, and for my cancer journey I have had many miracles. I am so thankful to still be here to share my story. This has been a long process of spending my time and energy healing.
This seems so delayed since the accident was in December however I have been spending much of my time and energy in Healing and working as much as I can. I also had no idea how much debt this would be. We THANK you in advance for your consideration in giving.
 for helping us. Organizer
Tina Vitolo-Kester
Organizer
Renton, WA