A Scots man has been left with nearly £1 million in medical bills after forgetting to update his records when he booked a last last-minute flight to help his sick granddaughter.
Hugh Drysdale, 67, said changing his medical status was the last thing on his mind when he booked the emergency trip from Aberdeen to Florida earlier this year.
The grandad , from Newtonhill, Aberdeenshire, made the quick dash to be with five-year-old Kyla Gould, who has been battling an aggressive brain tumour since August 2021.
However, the insurance oversight has left grandad in massive debt after he suffered a stroke just days after his arrival in America.
Although his travel insurance automatically renewed, in his haste he forgot to update his medical details to show he had recently been diagnosed with an irregular heart beat.
Now the pensioner, who also suffered a heart attack the day after his return to Scotland, has been unable to work since he fell ill and is having to pull all his pension funds together in a desperate bid to help foot the bill.
The estimated $1million, or £822,171, fees include the cost of every medical procedure, drug and treatment he received during two months in Florida’s Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola Hospital, as well as three flights - a 17-hour journey - home to Aberdeen.
Mr Drysdale, from Newtonhill, Aberdeenshire, said: “I had a policy I took out last year and it was an auto renewal, but the reason I forgot to tell them about my medical condition was because it was an emergency.
“Kyla was going to get an assessment and I didn’t want them to go through that by themselves in case the news was not as promising as they hoped, so I booked a last-minute flight over there.”
The self-employed IT consultant had felt in perfect health as he helped his daughter and granddaughter on the nine-hour journey from their home in Santa Rosa Beach to St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.
But after returning to his daughter’s home, he began coughing and struggling for breath and had to be airlifted to hospital.
Tests showed he had suffered a stroke and he was bed bound for more than 35 days.
During that time he received several scans, tests, occupational therapy and daily medication before the hospital finally allowed him to be discharged.
Mr Drysdale said the staff were “amazing”, with one of the nurses even going out and buying him steak as a parting gift on his last night there.
But now as the former deep-sea diver, who can only walk short distances with a cane, awaits what bills he will have to pay, he admitted it was an anxious time for the family.
He said: “The bill I’ve been sent so far is for $28,000. We’re still waiting for others to be sent over but the figure that she [his daughter, Laura, in America] said and that was bandied about the hospital was in the region of $1 million. But the amounts are not totalled yet.
“My wife is certainly anxious about it, that’s why I’m getting all my pensions put together so we know where we stand.”
The family’s ordeal began when Kyla started falling over in 2021. Her parents took her to the ophthalmologist and within a week she was in surgery having an aggressive medulloblastoma tumour the size of a human fist removed from her brain.
Scans also showed she had cancer in her spine.
Since then, the brave youngster has endured several surgeries, including facial reanimation, plus five rounds of chemotherapy, 30 rounds of proton radiation therapy, blood transfusions, and scans.
Latest results indicate she has responded well to treatment but the family knows the aggressive cancer has a high rate of recurring.
But as Mr Drysdale, who suffers from atrial fibrillation, which causes an irregular heart rhythm, recovers at home more than 4,000 miles from Kyla, after having a stent inserted in his heart at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, he said: “If she can go through all she has, I can do it too.
“I don’t have a million [dollars] in pensions, but in all of this, the main thing is we get to see Kyla again. No child should have to go through what she has. She’s our little warrior princess.”
Mr Drysdale is now compiling a book of memories about Kyla’s cancer journey so she and her family can look back in years to come about her remarkable bravery and give hope to others. All proceeds will go to St Jude’s Hospital in Memphis as a thank you for saving the brave youngster.
According to moneysavingexpert.com, founded by British financial guru Martin Lewis, those travelling abroad should “always declare medical conditions or you likely won’t be covered”.
The site explains that getting the right travel insurance can be more challenging for over 65s as they’re more at risk of injury or illness.
It adds: “If your insurer doesn't know your medical history, any existing conditions - however minor - will likely be excluded and you could face a massive bill if you become unwell.”
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here .
