July 21, 2007
Melissa Thibeault's nightmare at Rick's Cafe the day before her wedding:
My family and I would like to get the message out about the false sense of security people have when they purchase Traveller’s Insurance.
In November 2005 I travelled to Negril Jamaica with 28 loved ones to celebrate my wedding. Unfortunately this wedding did not occur and we travelled back to Canada with one less family member, my beloved father.
Travelling to a different country, and a third world country at that, we recognized that we were taking a risk. I was especially nervous of having so many loved ones on one trip. What we did not realize was the Medical Insurance we purchased did not guarantee any sort of health care, despite claims in travel brochures citing medical professionals on site and a hospital within the vicinity.
On a beautiful Wednesday afternoon most of our group (the elderly chose to stay behind, including my dad’s mother and mother-in-law) headed out on a Catamaran tour that would take us snorkelling, to Rick’s Café, a seaside bar, where we could dive off cliffs and view “the most breathtaking sunset.” It was the day prior to our scheduled wedding; we thought it would be a fun way for our friends and family to get to know each other. I wish this is how things happened, but it is where our nightmare began. In the context of this letter I will try to impose upon you the hell we experienced that afternoon, keeping in mind the word limit.
My father was a very healthy 45 year old, who decided not to drink on the boat that afternoon. Upon arriving at the seaside bar it was no surprise that he chose to swim to shore – a gruelling ¼ mile – after the boat operators (Wild Things Tours) informed us there would no longer be a smaller boat to retrieve us despite what the brochure and tour guides told us. My mother and one of my brothers were among those who decided to remain on the boat and wait for us to start our sunset cruise. Upon arriving at the cliffs of Rick’s Café my father appeared to be having difficulties breathing, which immediately seemed odd. I instantly called for our good friend, Roy, a local firefighter in our community for assistance. While there were some caring individuals that assisted Roy for a brief time we were disgusted to find that the locals continued to beg for money while crowds watched them jump from cliffs at this establishment, all the while walking over my father and around the crowd when returning from the water. By the time CPR was started another family member had returned to the catamaran, to retrieve my mother and brother. We requested numerous times for an ambulance to be called and were assured twice it was on its’ way. In the meantime our friend Derek went off to search for medical supplies, particularly a backboard to assist in carrying my father up the side of the fifty foot cliff. Imagine our surprise when we found out there were no supplies available at this establishment, a place which encourages drinking and diving from fifty foot cliffs into the rocky water. It was also around the same time someone told us there would be no ambulance arriving because it was broken down. We later discovered there were NO ambulances on the tourist side of the island. Using a piece of wood Derek broke off the fence behind the bar my father was carried up the cliff while Roy continued to perform CPR.
At the top of the cliff my father was loaded into a cab with my mother, Roy and Derek. In a 2nd cab I followed along with my two brothers, fiancé, Roy’s wife and my aunt. Roy and Derek, while performing CPR, directed the cab driver to find a doctor’s office, or a resort in the vicinity with a doctor on staff. There were no doctor’s offices open and we were told the resorts could be of no assistance. They then directed the driver to a fire hall in hopes of picking up more supplies. I use the term ‘fire hall’ lightly as I recall no supplies, trucks, and the men that we honour in North America could only back away from our emergency. At this stop we were able to retrieve only a small amount of oxygen and my father was again loaded into the cab and was driven an hour away to Savanna-la-mar Hospital. Again I use this term ‘hospital’ lightly because I would not even consider bringing a rat there to die.
While in the emergency department I was told that Roy and Derek were directing the doctors on which actions to take. When directed to get a defibrillator the doctor was initially going to use it without first putting lubrication on the handles. After Roy directed him to do so the machine did not work. The second machine they located only had half a charge in it.
The entire time this was occurring I was waiting for any kind of news in the hallway of the ‘hospital’. Since this had all happened from the time we left the boat all we were wearing was our bathing suits and we had nothing on our feet. The floor we were walking across was covered in urine in some areas and had numerous blood splatters across it. While waiting in a hallway across from the locals we were mocked. Upon finding out my father had passed away these locals laughed at us. A man with a rifle was not allowing us to pass through a door to be with my mother at my father’s side.
I wish this is where the hell ended, but following our long drive back to the resort we were hassled for money by the cab drivers, to later discover that the staff at the bar had arranged for this to be taken care of on our behalf. We were shown compassion by only a select few people that worked for Riu chain of resorts. Sunquest, our tour company did not offer my mother, or our family, any sort of sympathy. The medical insurance company we had purchased from was not compassionate in dealing with this matter either. In attempts to get the message out that people need to consider such things when travelling I was shocked to receive replies to Internet posts indicating that if my father was ill, or drinking he never should have taken the swim that brought on his heart attack. Clearly this was not the case, or I’m sure he would have remained at the resort, or on the boat, but as I stated he was an otherwise healthy 45 year old man that was taken from us way too early. We can only wonder if he would have had a chance to survive had there been any medical attention available to us.
I know my family is not alone in enduring such experiences. Shortly after our return I saw a news broadcast of a family whose son suffered from a seizure while vacationing in Turks and Caicos. Similar to our situation the medical personnel were not aware of what to do. This young boy survived only because his parents were doctors and able to assist him.
In turning to the travel advisories recommended on this same news broadcast I could only find warnings stating that “If the country you are visiting has a different standard of living, it is possible that you may encounter minor difficulties that are sometimes unavoidable and uncontrollable.” In no way does this capture the difficulties encountered. The persistent efforts of our family and friends to find answers from our travel agency (Sears), hotel (Riu) and tour company (Sunqeust) also resulted in no assistance. In addition to dealing with the loss of our father, husband, and friend we are all plagued by horrific memories of our experiences on what was supposed to be a happy family holiday, and the happiest day of my life.
Melissa Thibeault-Lau
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