Customer case study

Hawaii holiday goes horribly wrong

Lisa Starling, a busy NSW local, isn’t used to slowing down.

So, when a Hawaiian friend invited her to stay in Maui, Lisa jumped at the chance.

“She said, don't come for less than a month because you'll stay with me, and we'll have a wow of a time. And it all sounded fantastic.”

However, within days of her trip, Lisa developed a debilitating headache, with extreme side effects.

“I was in the back seat, and we were driving around sightseeing and I felt really unwell, like, you know, very nauseous, with a thunderclap headache. That was the most excruciating thing I've ever been through, and I hope I never, ever have to go through another one.”

After several days of rest, Lisa found her symptoms were not abating, if anything, they were only getting worse.  

“I took every single pill I possibly could. At one stage, I think at day five, I had an IV infusion which helped a little bit. Eventually I called the 24-hour travel insurance hotline, and just said, ‘I’m extremely unwell. I've been trying to get myself better for days now and I have no money.’ The woman just said, ‘I’m opening up a case for you, just get yourself to a hospital straight away.”

Lisa says that her memory of what came next was hazy.

“I don't remember the trip to the hospital. Just being in a Maui hospital is all a blur to me. The next thing you know, I'm having scans and then I'm being helicoptered to Honolulu (Queen’s hospital).”

A complex recovery 

While Lisa’s surgery had been successful, her mobility on her left side had been weakened result of a stroke she’d suffered during the procedure.

“At that stage I was in all sorts. But the whole time First Assistance (Zoom’s emergency team) was calling and checking. That was fantastic. They were amazing. There were three ladies, all tag teaming and when one left on a shift, the other one would call. They were just beautiful people.”

As Lisa required additional assistance, her sister Janine was in direct communication with Zoom and eventually flew over to help her recover.

“When they (Zoom Travel Insurance) knew I was on my own, they got in touch with my sister Janine. At first, she didn't realize how seriously ill I was, but then packed everything up and flew over.” 

Janine’s flights and out-of-pocket expenses were also covered by Zoom.

“She wasn't out of pocket, which was amazing, absolutely amazing. We were just so blown away at every step of dealing with anybody, it was just so professional and so loving and so caring. I cannot fault anybody along the way at all. And I've told so many people. If someone says they're going away, I just tell them about my experience.”

Lisa says that while she’s always had travel insurance, she’s now fully sold on its importance.

“I've always had travel insurance. I've travelled a lot. I didn’t think I’d need the amount of cover I’d had previously, as I was staying in someone’s home. And I can't believe that everything I needed was covered. I'm just so blown away.”

Exceptional care

Lisa also credits her recovery back to the exceptional level of care she experienced in Hawaii.

“Well, I believe that the care I got in America is the reason I made such a great recovery. The Queen’s hospital, where I was operated on, is the third hospital in the world that has a total dedicated neuroscience unit, and the doctor that operated on me is probably up in the top five.”

Lisa also greatly benefited from several weeks in the Queen’s rehabilitation centre, which focused on getting her in the best possible shape before flying back home.

“I was really pushing for the rehab, even though that was $30,000 a week. And I ended up doing that for two weeks. I’d get the program the night before and from seven in the morning would be going all day with physio, personal care, getting in the shower, lifting, moving, you know, things that I didn't think were possible.”

Lisa’s return flight home was also made easier through the assistance of a travel nurse.

“She was an angel and took care of everything. She planned everything. She spoke to people. She made sure there was wheelchairs there. Everything was so smooth.”

A change of pace

As someone who admittedly has ‘has never had a sick day’ Lisa says that her ordeal took her by complete surprise.

“I am the most robust, healthiest person, you know, and this shattered my whole outlook on life. I felt very robust and now I feel very fragile.”

However, as Lisa struggles to navigate her recovery back at home, she is grateful for the ongoing assistance provided by Zoom.

“Zoom gave me a hospital allowance of $1600. I saw it was in the policy because I read the policy from top to bottom. There's no way I was going to ask for it because I was already so grateful for everything. And then it came.”

All up, the total of Lisa’s hospital care, air ambulance, rehab, return flights and travel nurse came to just over a million dollars, which was all covered by Zoom.

“Imagine where I’d be without Zoom. I’d still be over there,” admits Lisa. “If someone says they're going away, I just go ‘have you got travel insurance’? And if they haven’t heard of Zoom Travel Insurance, I tell them, ‘Well you will soon’.”

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