in Aruba for a week...sounds great, eh? (That's yooper/Minnesota speak for Huh?)... My wife, Jan, slipped on a wet flooor in the ladies room at baggage claim when we arrived (no warnin g sign), and broke her hip. She's in the local hospital awaiting surgery to pin it, glue it, weld, it, or duct tape or bailing wire it to get her able to fly home. Air Ambulance is $45k in advance. I'm sure that isn't covered anywhere. Would have been if we had bought travelers' insurance...never have before and travelled around the worldl a few times. Will be in the hospital 2 to 3 days min, but then can come here and at least look at the gorgeous Marriott Resort. Will have to stay until she can fly commercial. Life sure likes toi mess with you whenyou get older. Not fun...
Dave, Sorry to hear about your wife's injury. My cousin's wife had a similar slip and fall. I wonder if where she fell, could be held responsible?
Sorry to hear about that, hope your wife will recover from this accident soon :TU: In the Netherlands (Aruba is a part of our country) we don't have to put up warning signs like you are used to in the US. This is because we don't have a "I sue you for 5 million dollar" mentality here yet. But I can't understand why they didn't put such a sign up, it's not that much of an effort to do that. I come across these signs at a lot of places in the Netherlands nowadays, like on airports, big hotels or in service stations. Marriott is a very big (US based) hotel group, so I advice you to talk to the general manager of the hotel about the incident and the lack of service to visitors of their hotel. Just ask him/her what they are going to do about your wife's accident in their hotel. If you ask him/her this question like that, he/she can't do anything else but answer it directly.
That's terrible, sorry to hear that Dave. Give Jan our best and hope it works out. Man even that does't sound right. What do you say to that . Holy crap. :shock:
Dave: you could probably charter a private jet for a 1/4 [or less?] the cost of that air ambulance...last dealings we had with one we were quoted somewhere in the range of 1200-1500/hour depending on who we talked to, but that was a couple years ago also. Still really steep, but with a guesstimated flight time of 5-6 hours you'd still be way ahead of the air ambulance. Lerum would know the current rates better, and may even know of a better/cheaper alternative. But living out of a hotel ain't gonna be cheap, either... That is just horrible news, but we'll keep y'all in our thoughts & prayers...and if there's anything we can do, don't hesitate to ask. [Edit: I should also add, you need to get in touch with someone at the airport, and make sure their insurance company knows what's up...if they're run anything like businesses here in the U.S., then there are *not* accidents any more, and when facing any type of liability suit the insurance companies are all too eager to settle for the medical costs, often times regardless of negligence or not...corporations have been on the wrong end of so many high-$$$ jury trials that they're gun shy. Right or wrong, that's how it works, as we found that out the hard way here at work.]
Maybe someone from the board could step up and come get y'all... there are several pilots and aircraft owners here... That would be a story for the ages...
While I am a pilot and I do fly aircraft that could do the the trip ( Boeing 767's) I'm not exactly sure Continental would be too understanding of me "borrowing" one of them to help you out Dave. Even if I explained to them you were a good friend in need. That said, if they would let me, now THAT would be a story for the ages!! So very so sorry to hear about Jan's accident. If you think it might cheer her up, I'll be flying over Aruba this coming Thursday, March 5th on my way to Sao Paulo, Brazil. I'll be at 35,000' and I could flash the landing lights and rev the engines as I pass overhead! ETA would be around 0230-0300 EST, if you get her outside or near a window......o No: All kidding aside, tell Jan there are tons of people here pulling for her. The power of positive vibes is not to be underestimated. Best to you both my friend. Thomas
Hey Dave, I'm sorry about your lousy trip. Moreso, I'm really sorry about your wife's hip man. Please tell her the Buick community is pulling for her to have a quick recovery.
Keep your spirits up Dave. I know the airport as we were there in october. Not as nice as the states but better the Puerto Rico. Just don't expect anyone to get in a hurry down there. They work at half speed but very nice. Wish you the best. Make sure to wear your old mans hat down there, as the sun is brutal!:3gears:
Dave, Jan & all, Sorry to hear of the bummer vacation. Know that you are in my prayers. I pray that all is well and goes well with the flight home. Lon
Sorry indeed to hear of that, Dave. Bummer! 'Worst part about it is not being home, right? Best wishes for a smooth flight home and full recovery in time. BP
Thanks, All. She came through the operation fine and now has another titanium pin in her. Hope to get her out of there Thursday for our last 2 days here. What a neat place (other than that little problem) Dave
Dave, I'm sorry to hear of your troubles. It's good to hear Jan's doing better. On the bright side, I bet that whatever medical care she's receiving in Aruba costs much less than it would in the US. Does it look like she will be able to fly home soon on a commercial flight? If not, you may want to contact your congressman's office It might be a long-shot, but there is a small US military base on Aruba (see http://www.fpif.org/briefs/vol9/v9n03latammil_body.html ), mostly for drug interdiction activity. They may have regular transport flights back and forth to the mainland. Your congressman might be able to twist a few arms so you can hitch a ride. While I doubt you'd get all the way home, it would at least get you back on US soil. Hang in there!
boattail, Thanks, she came through the operation fine, hopefully a day of therapy tomorrow and she can get out and come here to the resort.....it's gorgeous. At least get a coupla days efore we leave on Sunday. It actually happened in the airport at baggage claim before we got the luggage. They were very polite and accomodating, don't really blame them, we're not the type to sue like most Americans...It was an accident, and the sign was supposde to be there, the clean ing person forgot it or skipped it. She was the first person to find her and came out to get me. Sign was there by then. almost by her head (on the floor)..I'm sure she would have seen it. Poor lady was terrified.... Marriott, hospitals, taxi drivers (lots of them), all have been extremely nice. Great place. We checked out the two orthopaedic surgeons and they are some of the best in the world. Says a lot for your country. Ironic thiing is their English is perfect and we can understand them better than the Far East and Mid East doctors back home (most of them). We'll be back...this is one of the nicest and most friendly place we've been.. Dave
