Sylvie Benoît, a Quebecer stranded in Punta Cana for around $100,000 in medical care she cannot pay, has been expelled from the hospital.
The 61-year-old woman, who was insured with the Blue Cross during her stay, hid a lung problem from which she suffers.
Thereafter, the insurer is not obliged to reimburse hospital costs.
According to the family, when the doctor at the Dominican Republic hospital found out about this, he cut her off her oxygen source and two days later she was taken out of the hospital for a week with medication in hand.
“I feel helpless, dependent on my brother and very scared. It gives me even more trouble breathing,” she tries to express herself.
Her brother regrets not having received help from the Quebec or Canadian government and fears his sister will die there.
“She can barely make it from the living room to the bathroom, she’s exhausted. She has no more strength, she has no more muscles. Only skin and bones remain. So we are asking governments for help with repatriation to Canada. It will definitely need an ambulance jet. With the temperatures outside, she’ll never get out of here. Humidity is 32-33 degrees. She will suffocate completely, it is unbreathable for her. She will die.
Quebec said it was an individual responsibility so it was up to Ms Benoît and her relatives to take the steps to get an ambulance plane to return to the country.