Seven Corners Travel Insurance Brings Sick Study Abroad Student Home

“I think we all imagine it won’t happen to us,” says Steve L. 

When Steve and his wife sent their 15-year-old son to study abroad in the south of France, they received the kind of news that is a parent’s worst nightmare — their son was severely ill with bacterial pneumonia. The two immediately flew to France. 

Normally, if you catch bacterial pneumonia, you should recover relatively quickly if you receive the care you need. Unfortunately, their son didn’t receive appropriate care until his parents arrived in Europe, and he was already extremely sick by then. They took him to the hospital, and he was admitted to the ICU, where he remained for 12 lengthy days. He was terrified he was going to die.

That’s where Seven Corners came in. 

Luckily, Steve had decided to purchase travel insurance before his son studied abroad. This decision paid off.

After Steve and his wife arrived in France, they were frantic to get help for their son. Steve called the Seven Corners Assist team to figure out how to get his son back to the U.S.

“When I called, even though it was very late in the U.S., I got a human being on the phone. I was taken care of immediately. After this, I didn’t have to be the one asking questions and figuring things out,” says Steve L. 

The Seven Corners Assist team immediately got to work coordinating the son’s journey home. 

The first step was locating a hospital in the United States that could provide appropriate care. After some research, they discovered the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio would be a good fit. The team arranged a phone call between the American and French doctors (with the help of a translator) to figure out the son’s needs during a transport. 

The next step was finding a nurse to fly back with the son and monitor him during the long trip to Ohio. Seven Corners arranged for a nurse to travel at the son’s bedside and monitor his vitals during the entire transatlantic flight, until he was safely delivered to the Cleveland Clinic. 

Without travel insurance, the family would have been liable for an enormous hospital bill, along with $16,000 in transportation costs. On top of this, they would also have been responsible for coordinating their son’s transport to an American hospital, finding a nurse to accompany him, and arranging the flight home. 

The son didn’t remain in the Cleveland Clinic for long — only a day. The doctors confirmed he was medically stable and able to make the rest of the journey to New Mexico. He’s currently safe at home in Santa Fe, on a long, but hopefully full recovery, and eager to put the entire event behind him. 

The situation has left a mark on Steve. He’s planning to go on an international trip soon and is making sure to bring a very important accessory with him — travel insurance. “I’ve already purchased Seven Corners insurance for my next trip. I can’t imagine being on another international trip without that protection.”

Are you or someone you know planning to study abroad? Before leaving on the trip of a lifetime, check out a Seven Corners medical travel insurance plan.