An uninsured Danish man, seriously injured in a motorbike crash, has been stranded in a Philippine hospital since August last year because his family could not afford the accumulated medical bills and cost of transporting him back to Denmark.
The man identified as Michael Christensen had no travel insurance when the accident took place and has no money for a flight ticket back to Denmark, reported newspaper Ekstra Bladet.
Because of his very serious conditions, including partial loss of body fuctions and mobility, Christensen has been bed-ridden at a hospital in Cebu, the Philippines.
Michael’s mother Ruth Christensen told Ekstra Bladet that the family was going through a tough time, as they were losing hope of ever bringing Michael back to Denmark.
A Danish woman, who has no relations with Michael Christensen or his family, created a Facebook page where she solicits cash donations to help pay for the cost of bringing Michael Christensen back to Denmark, where he can get the surgeries he needs. Right now she collected an amount of 200.000 DKK, but the price for the home transportation can easily double that.
Read more about the story here (only in Danish), and visit the Facebook-page, here.
That may be so, but a little bit of empathy is only suitable.
I am sorry, but I have no sympathy for people who travel without insurance. That is unfair to both your home country and the country you travel to. A year’s travel insurance from Finland is about 300-400 Euros if you are younger than ~60. My father (75y.o.) pays about 250 Euros for four months.