The hard decision has been made for me. Tomorrow, I’m going home.
Less than a week before by dad came to visit I insisted that he buy travel insurance. He almost didn’t do it, but thank God he did – because last night as we were researching flights it occurred to me: most policies include an “emergency cancellation” clause. So we called them up. Their response was no less than heroic. Even in the middle of the night it only took them a few hours to get our medical reports and X-Rays over to a doctor and authorize an emergency flight home. Business class. For both of us.
We’ll fly out first thing tomorrow morning and have a car waiting to take us straight to the hospital in LA. If all goes well he should be under the knife by Monday (unfortunately we arrive on Friday night and the surgeon is out of town for the weekend).
So what of my plans for the future? I’ll be back here in a month to pick up where I left off.
As his medical escort, part of the deal is that the insurance provides me a round-trip ticket back to my point of origin – which is currently Hanoi, Vietnam. So I’ll help him get home, stay to assist in the post-surgery recovery, then head back across the Pacific.
My life in Asia is not yet over…it’s just being put on pause.
Wish us luck.
Note: These posts are behind realtime; the above took place on Thursday, May 5th.
Haha! Brilliant outcome. Best of luck.
Hey Allyn, this is the old man himself. Nice of you to root for us. great to have Justin with me too.
Sorry your trip was cut short. Your dad is lucky you are there to help!
I know these events happened a while ago now, but Justin does a fantastic job of telling the story and bringing the reader along with for the ride! Thanks, great to hear from you directly, it is literally like communicating with a character in a book that you are reading.
That was incredibly lucky. Call it karma 🙂
that is a GREAT solution….glad it worked out so well for you both
Yep – all things considered, it really was a pretty lucky twist…
@Allyn: Haha thanks – woo hoo, I’m a character in a book!
(…Almost true, actually :lol:)
wow, travel insurance has never once helped me (but i’m glad i didn’t have to test it to find out!) like it did for you and your dad. glad everything worked out.
I’ve actually gotten LOADS of value out of travel insurance over the years – far more than I’ve spent. The trick is just taking the time to read all the fine print and learn exactly what it provides…and what they require to file a claim.
For example, insurance paid for my hospital visits both in Melaka and in Bangkok; I’ve had two or three broken cameras replaced, as well as an iPod with a cracked screen. Most policies will even give you spending money if you miss your flight, provided it happens for a valid reason 🙂
yay!!!