A Farnham couple stuck in an American hospital in South Carolina are finally back in Estrie after lengthy repatriation procedures.
The air ambulance that was returning Danielle Tarte and her spouse Robert Bougie landed at Sherbrooke’s Cookshire-Eaton Airport at 2:40pm on Friday.
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On April 17, the Snowbirds returning from Florida were involved in an accident on Highway 95.
Her vehicle overturned several times after being hit head-on by a semitrailer wheel.
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Suffering from broken ribs, elbows and wrists, but mostly from multiple and deep lacerations in both legs, Danielle Tarte was hospitalized at McLeod Medical Center in Florence, South Carolina. She had been bedridden there for 18 days.
Her 81-year-old husband had a spleen injury and stayed by her bedside to attend to the repatriation.
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Those moves lasted two weeks: an endless delay for the couple, who remained without news until yesterday afternoon.
The management of the CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS explains this long waiting time with a lack of beds in the hospitals in the region.
dr Mario Viens, acting director of professional services, said it was impossible to get the 75-year-old woman home earlier, partly because many patients are waiting for a bed and admissions are prioritized according to each person’s health status.
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In the middle of the afternoon, Danielle Tarte was finally admitted to the Hôtel-Dieu hospital, where she can finally continue her recovery in peace, close to her family.
The return flight went well.
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It’s the end of a long nightmare for the couple; Robert Bougie couldn’t hold back his tears as he stepped out of the ambulance, reassured to know his wife was in good hands.