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Like most millions of Australians visiting Indonesia every year, Instagram model Emily Gurr loves Bali vacation.
But unlike most travelers, she has experienced two nightmarish medical emergencies on the island vacation, which, according to experts, represents a misfortune of one in 100,000.
Beauty based in Queensland, which has more than 116,000 followers on Instagram, told news.com.au that she had been evacuated from Bali twice for urgent medical care. And if she had not taken out travel insurance before both trips, she would have had to pay twice as much medical bills.
In the last incident just a few weeks ago, Gurr misdiagnosed the ankle diagnosis by Bali doctors after being hit by a motorcycle while the runner was trying to get to a park. curb.
"We were going to dinner on foot, completely sober, and he got on the bike path and lost control. His bike fell on my ankle and crushed it, "Gurr said.
"I fell to the ground and they thought that it was a sprain when I went to the doctor and that I spent three hours there.
"That's about what they convinced us we had to pay them $ 150 and they were not affiliated with an insurance company, so I had to pay it. According to the medical report, it's just a sprain, just ice, rest, a compress. "
But for the rest of her trip, the pain worsened, causing "absolute agony" and Gurr made contact with her insurer, 1Cover, who organized her to be sent home in business class by a Qantas flight.
Back in Australia, X-rays revealed that Gurr's injury was far worse than a minor sprain.
"The doctor said," Oh, they were so wrong, you broke the wound in four places, you need surgery. "I have seven screws and an ankle plate for the moment."
It was not the first time that Gurr had to be saved from Bali.
Less than three years ago, the 21-year-old girl was severely infected with dengue, which she had contracted in a mosquito bite about a week earlier in Vietnam.
She said that she had woken up one morning in Bali, suffering from what she originally thought was a bad hangover, but things quickly deteriorated.
"I felt very bad, as if a bus had hit me. I did not know what it was, but at nightfall it was unbearable, "she said.
After about 10 days of hospitalization, Airvac Gurr was called to Bali, while his condition was deteriorating.
Gurr was flown to Darwin for treatment and his mother by plane.
The cost of the emergency evacuation alone was about $ 52,000.
"I do not think the ankle injury was so expensive, but it would have been up there," Gurr said. "Without insurance, I would have been bankrupt for sure."
Gurr's double round of bad luck in Bali has earned him a prominent place among his insurer's clients, said Richard Warburton, the company's transportation safety expert.
"In our 15 years of existence, our team has never seen a client needing to be evacuated twice from their destination for two completely different medical expense claims," he said.
"It's literally an event of one in 100,000. A remarkable but unwanted event for Emily.
Warburton said Bali remained a popular holiday destination for Australians this summer, so beware of dengue fever.
"Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease and the main hospital in Bali records between 50 and 100 cases a year of tourists," he said.
"Dengue fever is an increased risk, especially during the rainy season from October to April in tropical areas like Bali, and more than 200,000 tourists are expected to travel to Bali from Australia in the months to come. d & # 39; summer.
"We recommend that all travelers make sure to apply a proper mosquito repellent at all times. They should also avoid areas where the water is calm and large mosquito populations. "
And like all seasons, Australian travelers should be wary of motorcycle accidents.
"We are aware that on average 15 to 25 Australians are involved in road accidents each month in Bali, and pedestrians and cyclists have to be careful about the poor maintenance of the road in Bali and the potholes being a major factor of accidents, "said Mr. Warburton.
Gurr told news.com.au that in addition to taking out travel insurance, it was worthwhile to inquire in advance about the hospital or medical provider to which the insurer was affiliated. That way, if the worst happened, you could go straight to it.
"In general, they choose the best," she said.
"In Bali, especially with foreigners, it's all about getting the money. So when 1Cover calls them and says, "Yes, we cover them," they will admit you, evaluate you, and tell you what's wrong.
"Usually, when something is happening abroad, you're just looking for the nearest hospital in Google, but it's often a local place that can try to rip you off and get you stuck."
Despite her troubles in Bali, Gurr said it did not take her away from the island. In fact, she is about to move there at the end of the year to work there.
"You can not really live your life in fear," she said.
"I love it there and there are risks everywhere, you just have to be careful.
"And having travel insurance is vital. You never know what will happen. In Australia, we have health insurance and health coverage, which cover you when you are in a familiar place, but when you are abroad, you do not have these things and it is nice to be able to count on some thing and on someone. "
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