It's not the cost I am concerned about. My husbands 3 day stay in the ER, with everything included (stay, procedures, drugs) came out to $1200. I was worried when he was going to have to pay before he was discharged, trying to figure out what the credit limit was on everyone's credit cards who were with us figuring 3 days in the ER would be in the tens of thousands of dollars. Plus, our insurance company reimbursed us for most of the expense (after our deductible of course).

We do have evacuation insurance from Divers Alert Network (they provide insurance for non-diving evacuation in addition to their dive benefits). I was actually in communication with them during the time he was in the hospital and they were very helpful.

My concern is with the cleanliness of the hospital. The ER seemed okay, not great, but I've seen worse in the US. For better or worse he was kept in the ER the entire time, on a gurney (no real beds available) for the entire 3 days because there were no beds anywhere in the hospital. They kept a curtain around him and he had no call button or any way to summon a nurse for help other than yelling for them. They took him one day to the regular floor for a shower. The bathroom was grungy with the pipe coming directly out of a hole in the wall. He ended up picking up MRSA sometime around then. No guarantee it was at Peebles, but some things he saw made him wonder. I truly feel he was given the best care they had. It was just an unusual injury. The admitting dr was flying by the seat of his pants, admitted he had never seen it, and performed a procedure he had only done once in his career. It was a true learning experience for all the residents there.

Suzanne