My holiday blunder cost me £35,000 and we didn’t even get to enjoy the trip – don’t make the same mistake I did
GAZING out at the Pacific Ocean, Alyssa Fuller, 37, couldn’t believe her luck.
“I was on the holiday of a lifetime with the man of my dreams,” the designer from Minneapolis remembers.
“I had no idea within hours it would turn into a nightmare.”
It was October 2023 and Alyssa had just married Jeremy, now 38, regional sales manager.
At the end of the night, Alyssa knew that the excitement wasn’t over. Soon the newlyweds would be heading off to Mexico on their honeymoon.
“We’d booked a luxury hotel with snorkelling and diving, and just couldn’t wait to unwind together,” she says
Arriving at the hotel on Sunday evening it was even better than they’d hoped.
“Our room had huge windows overlooking the ocean and we had its own hot tub. It was gorgeous,” she remembers.
The next morning at 11am the couple headed out to the hotel pool.
“I saw that it had been raining, but that didn’t dampen my spirits. I couldn’t wait to get into the water,” she says.
“At midday, after a swim, I said to Jeremy, ‘let’s go down to the cabana on the beach.’
But as Alyssa got out of the pool and took a step, disaster struck.
“The floor was slippery from the rain hours before. One second, I was upright, the next my feet slipped, and I crashed onto the floor,” she says.
“I knew instantly something awful 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 crawled by, and all I could do was lay there shivering and shaking in my swimsuit.”
“I felt awful and couldn’t believe this was happening. I should be sipping cocktails with my husband. Not lying on the floor in agony.”
Jeremy remained right by her side as a fellow guest fanned her to keep her cool.
Eventually Jeremy decided that they couldn’t wait any longer. He needed to get Alyssa to hospital.
That’s when the couple discovered something shocking.
They had believed that by booking through their credit card, they’d have proper insurance if disaster struck. But it didn’t cover any medical issues.
“It cost us $900 (£700) just for the ambulance to take us to hospital,” Alyssa says.
“They almost didn’t let Jeremy in, he had to push his way in there with me.
“I was so glad he didn’t leave my side.
“Being in the back on this little gurney, in agony, unable to speak the language and with no idea what anyone is saying, was so scary.”
The couple had to pay another $1,800 (£1,400) before they were even allowed through the doors of the hospital.
“But what choice did we have? And the news just kept getting worse and worse.
“After x-rays I was told that my bones were broken in three places, that I’d dislocated my ankle and fractured my left wrist.
“Four men came in to ‘set’ my leg with no pain killers and then we were told it would be $35,000 (£27,260) for surgery.”
The couple simply didn’t have that kind of money.
All they could afford was the $3,200 (£2,492) to be admitted for the night, as they didn’t have anywhere else to go.
WHAT KIND OF TRAVEL INSURANCE DO YOU NEED?
The two main types of policy are single and multi-trip cover.
If you travel two or more times a year, a multi-trip policyis likely to be more economical.
Also note that combining cover for your family or partner on a shared policy can be cheaper than buying individual policies.
Whatever you decide, it’s important to realise there are lots of things that your trusty travel insurance doesn’t cover you for – especially if you’ve opted for a more basic policy.
Ceri McMillan from Go.Compare, told The Sun: “Travel policies can vary a lot. You need to pick the right one for you.
“Make sure you read the fine print carefully before you purchase to familiarise yourself with any exclusions.
“If you don’t know the extent of your cover until you come to make a claim, there’s a chance you could have a nasty, costly shock.”
“Lying there in panicked agony, with no idea how we would get home or how I would get better, I couldn’t believe that this was supposed to be the best holiday of my life,” she says.
The next day Alyssa and Jeremy discovered that they could pay for a Medivac flight to get them back to the USA, where Alyssa would be able to have her operation.
“It would cost $17,500 (£13,630) but it was our only chance.
“But even that was horrendous.
“For four more days we tried to get on a plane, leaving the hospital only to be turned back from the runway each time because something else went wrong”.
We’re also planning to have a second shot at the honeymoon at some point
Alyssa Fuller
Finally, four days and $34,000 (£26,480) later, they were flying back to the USA.
“I’d spent less than 20 hours on my holiday-of-a-lifetime before disaster struck,” Alyssa says.
“I’d never been so happy to get back to the USA after a trip away.”
Friends and family contributed to a GoFundMe page to help them manage the huge spend.
In the months since Alyssa has had three operations, and six months of physical therapy.
“Right now, I can stand for a day, although the next day I’ll be exhausted,” she says.
But even after spending $34,000 (£26,480) on just 20 hours of holiday, it hasn’t put the pair off.
“We went on a cruise in January to the Bahamas and Virgin Islands,” Alyssa adds.
“We’re also planning to have a second shot at the honeymoon at some point.”
But there’s one thing that is always at the top of Alyssa’s holiday to-do list. “Proper travel insurance! We’ll never go away without it again.”