STARING at the Pacific Ocean, Alyssa Fuller, 37, couldn’t believe her luck.
“I was on the vacation of my life with the man of my dreams,” recalls the designer from Minneapolis.
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Alyssa Fuller and her new husband Jeremy were looking forward to their dream honeymoon Credits: Submitted
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The couple planned the perfect trip to Mexico the day after their weddingCredit: AVAILABLE
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And it would have been idyllic if the disaster hadn’t happened in less than 24 hours inCredit: Supplied
“I had no idea it would turn into a nightmare in a matter of hours.”
It was October 2023 and Alyssa had just married Jeremy, now 38, a regional sales manager.
At the end of the night, Alyssa knew there was no end to the excitement. Soon, the newlyweds will head to Mexico for their honeymoon.
“We booked a luxury hotel with snorkeling and diving and couldn’t wait to relax together,” she says
Arriving at the hotel on Sunday night was even better than they had hoped.
“Our room had huge windows overlooking the ocean and we had our own hot tub. It was wonderful – she recalls.
The next morning at 11 o’clock the couple went out to the hotel pool.
“I saw that it was raining, but that didn’t spoil my mood. I couldn’t wait to get in the water,” she says.
“At noon, after swimming, I said to Jeremy, ‘let’s go down to the beach hut.’
But when Alyssa got out of the pool and stepped in, disaster struck.
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“The floor was slippery from the rain a few hours before. One second I was upright, the next my feet slipped and I fell to the floor,” she says.
“I knew immediately that something terrible had happened to my left leg. I was in agony.”
As Alyssa lay on the ground in shock, she and Jeremy waited for the hotel doctor to arrive.
“Hours passed, and all I could do was lie there shivering in my bathing suit.”
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After slipping by the pool, Alyssa discovered that she had broken bones in three places Credits: Submitted
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Without adequate travel insurance, the couple were hit with huge medical bills Credits: Delivered
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The couple had to pay more than £13,000 for a Medivac flight back to the US. Credits: Submitted
“I felt terrible and couldn’t believe this was happening. I should be drinking cocktails with my husband. Not lying on the floor in agony.”
Jeremy stayed by her side while another guest fanned her to keep her cool.
Eventually, Jeremy decided they couldn’t wait any longer. He had to take Alyssa to the hospital.
Then the couple discovered something shocking.
They believed that by booking through their credit card, they would have adequate insurance if disaster struck. But it did not cover any medical issues.
“It cost us $900 (£700) just to get an ambulance to hospital,” says Alyssa.
“They almost didn’t let Jeremy in, he had to squeeze in with me.
“I was so glad he didn’t leave me.
“Being in the back of this little wheelchair, in agony, unable to speak the language and having no idea what anyone was saying, it was so terrifying.”
The couple had to pay another $1,800 (£1,400) before they were even allowed through the hospital doors.
“But what choice did we have? And the news kept getting worse and worse.
“After the X-ray, I was told that my bones were broken in three places, that I had dislocated my ankle and broken my left wrist.
“Four men came to ‘adjust’ my leg with no pain medication and then we were told the operation would cost $35,000 (£27,260).
The couple simply didn’t have that much money.
All they could afford was $3,200 (£2,492) for a night’s accommodation as they had nowhere to go.
WHAT TRAVEL INSURANCE DO YOU NEED?
The two main types of policy are single and multi-trip coverage.
If you travel two or more times a year, a multiple trip policy is likely to be more economical.
Also note that combining coverage for your family or partner on a joint policy can be cheaper than buying individual policies.
Whatever you decide, it’s important to understand that there are many things your reliable travel insurance doesn’t cover – especially if you’ve opted for a simpler policy.
Ceri McMillan of Go.Compare told The Sun: “Travel policies can vary widely. You have to choose the right one for you.
“Read the fine print carefully before purchasing to familiarize yourself with the exclusions.
“If you don’t know the extent of your coverage until you come to claim, you could be in for a nasty, expensive shock.”
“Laying there in panicked agony, with no idea how we were going to get home or how I was going to recover, I couldn’t believe that this was supposed to be the best vacation of my life,” she says.
The next day, Alyssa and Jeremy discovered that they could pay for a Medivac flight back to the US, where Alyssa could have surgery.
“It would have cost $17,500 (£13,630) but it was our only chance.
“But even that was terrible.
“For four more days we tried to get on the plane, leaving the hospital only to be turned back from the runway each time because something else had gone wrong.”
We also plan to have a second chance at a honeymoon at some point
Alyssa Fuller
Finally, four days and $34,000 (£26,480) later, they flew back to the US.
“I was less than 20 hours into the vacation of a lifetime before disaster struck,” Alyssa says.
“I’ve never been so happy to be back in the US after a trip.”
Friends and family have contributed to a GoFundMe page to help them manage the huge expense.
In the months since, Alyssa has had three surgeries and six months of physical therapy.
“Right now I can stand for a day, even though I’ll be exhausted the next day,” she says.
But even after spending $34,000 (£26,480) on just 20 hours of holiday, that didn’t put them off.
“We went on a cruise in January to the Bahamas and the Virgin Islands,” adds Alyssa.
“We also plan to have a second honeymoon at some point.”
But there’s one thing that’s always at the top of Alyssa’s vacation to-do list. “Adequate travel insurance! We will never leave without it again.”
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Alyssa says she will never leave without travel insurance again. Credits: Delivered
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