CONROE, Texas (KHOU) – What began as a fun vacation aboard a cruise ship quickly turned into an unexpected nightmare for one family from Texas.
Khiali Baxter suffered a medical emergency on board a Royal Caribbean cruise from Galveston to Mexico, and her family spent more than $13,000 out of pocket for medical care.
“Sometimes the trip of a lifetime can become the situation of a lifetime,” said Khiali’s father, Craig Baxter.
Just two days and five hours into her first-ever cruise with her boyfriend, Khiali Baxter started vomiting blood. She was taken to the onboard emergency room then an ambulance took her to a Mexican hospital four hours away.
“So, I woke up. I started throwing up blood, unfortunately, and I had passed out on the ground,” Khiali Baxter said. “I could feel myself kind of going in and out of consciousness. I was very cold and terrified.”
Khiali Baxter’s parents were contacted once she arrived at the hospital, where staff asked for payment before they would treat her. Craig Baxter recalled the conversation with the hospital staff member.
“‘We’ll work as far as the $2,500 will take us.’ I’ve never heard this in my life,” he said.
An endoscopy and colonoscopy were performed, but the family says doctors couldn’t figure out why Khiali Baxter started bleeding internally. She was eventually released.
The family received an itemized bill totaling $9,970 from the hospital, as well as a $4,048 bill from the cruise ship for onboard medical facilities. They also spent money on flights and lodging in Mexico.
In hindsight, the family wishes they looked into travel insurance.
“It was a very, very scary experience, and my main thing that I do want to say is that I really wish I would’ve gotten travel insurance,” Khiali Baxter said.
Longtime insurance expert Jeff Rolander recommends people shop around before booking a travel insurance policy. Policies can cover just part of trip or the entire trip, medical bills and medical transport.
“There are very barebones policies that might protect just a piece of the trip, for instance the flights themselves or a hotel room,” Rolander said. “A comprehensive travel insurance product typically costs 6 to 8% of the trip cost.”
A GoFundMe has helped the Baxter family recover most of the costs, but they are sharing their story in hopes of warning others about what can happen while traveling.
“It was an eye-opening experience that I hope prepares other young people,” Craig Baxter said.