We first heard from Lizbeth via a simple email she sent to us that read, “In 2013 you guys saved my husband's life when he had a heart attack in Belize. Probably saved our house too.” Intrigued, we reached out to hear her story.
Here is Lizbeth’s story...
In 2013, Lizbeth and her husband, Paul, planned a one-week vacation at an inland eco-resort in Belize to explore the island’s caves, hike and more. While there, Paul suffered a severe heart attack.
Lizbeth describes the next few days as chaotic and scary. Belize is not a very developed country, and while the ambulance came immediately and took them to the closest hospital, the hospital was merely a tent with cots. Thankfully the doctor corroborated Lizbeth’s plea to take Paul to the Belize City hospital located an hour and a half away.
When Lizbeth was finally able to get her hands on a working telephone, she called a Seven Corners representative who was very calm, supportive and understanding of the gravity of the situation. The first step was to contact and begin a relationship with the doctors in Belize and contact Paul’s cardiologist back in Baltimore. This allowed for Seven Corners to relay information back and forth about Paul’s condition and medical history.
Soon all the doctors involved decided that Paul needed to go to a catheterization laboratory as soon as possible. Since the Belize City hospital did not have one, Seven Corners arranged to medically evacuate Paul to Baltimore. Paul and Lizbeth were met at the airport by an ambulance and taken to a hospital where the medical team knew Paul’s situation and immediately took him to the cardiac ICU.
“Having this travel insurance turned what could have been an absolute disaster into a manageable crisis, and I just want people who don’t think about travel insurance in that way to be aware that it’s a lot more than insuring your bags in case they get lost.”
Paul received the care he needed and while he made a fully recovery, this particular episode severely compromised his health. Paul now lives in his native country, England, to be with family and receive free healthcare. Lizbeth is unable to move to England yet and uses our insurance whenever she goes to visit him.
Lizbeth wrapped up her story by explaining that if she had to pay for the medical evacuation herself, it probably would have cost her the house. With a $45 Seven Corners policy, Lizbeth avoided the financial and stressful burden of organizing a medical evacuation, and her husband received the care he desperately needed.
“I paid 90 dollars for the insurance for the both of us, and I think this is the biggest return on investment I’ll ever get in my entire life.”