ESTEVAN - A GoFundMe campaign has been launched for a southeast Saskatchewan family facing a serious medical situation.
Becca Fee of Estevan launched the campaign. She said her grandfather Louis Lamothe, who resides in the Halbrite area, had a stroke almost three weeks ago on Feb. 3 in Yuma, Ariz. She said he purchased travel insurance and answered questions truthfully, but the insurance company denied his claim, leaving his family with a $56,435 bill they need to pre-pay to get him home to Canada, in addition to thousands of dollars in hospital bills.
“His stroke has left him paralyzed on the left side, unable to speak, and unable to swallow. He has extensive rehabilitation ahead of him in Regina … which is an hour and a half from their hometown,” Fee wrote.
Louis’ wife Arlene will have to travel to visit him for appointments.
As of Thursday morning, the campaign, Please Help us Return Louis Lamothe to Canada, had raised $17,270 of its $100,000 goal. Forty-six people have donated. You can visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/louis-stroke-fund-lets-get-him-home to support the campaign.
Fee noted the insurance company decided they are not covering the Lamothes because at some point, his cholesterol medication changed from 10 to 20 milligrams.
“We don’t know when, and we don’t even think he knew this as he answered all questions very truthfully, or so he thought,” Fee wrote for the campaign. “This is something to be aware of. It caused an immediate cut off of insurance, and had my grandma been on the same policy as him, hers would have been cancelled immediately too.”
By Feb. 6, Fee was able to drive to Arizona to be with her grandmother to help her through this time.
Fee noted Louis was the primary caregiver in their home, and the couple has some major life changes ahead of them.
Fee and her grandmother have been staying in hotels in Phoenix to be near him. They have sold their fifth wheel in Yuma and are just trying to get him home so they can go home too. They have been sitting in the intensive care unit every day for 12 hours a day, praying he would get better for almost 15 days, Fee said, and he’s now been transferred to a patient room on the neuro floor.
After almost three weeks, Fee said he has been given approval to get flown back to Canada once his cardio doctor signs off, but because insurance rejected their case, they are responsible for paying up front for his C$56,435 medical flight home.
Louis needs a stretcher, a medical team, his feeding tube and his atrial fibrillation medication, Fee said, so any other possible methods to get him home just won’t work with the paralysis.
“We’re trying hard, and working day and night to get this done with little to no help from the hospital,” she said.
She noted they were told they had to line up his transfer, flight and find a bed for him in Saskatchewan, but Fee said it is the hospital’s job to do this.
They were told multiple times they would have a case manager at the hospital to help deal with this, and after more than 25 attempts to try to call them, they got through twice only to be told they would get a call back. Fee said it didn’t happen.
She pointed out the nurses and doctors in Arizona have been absolutely outstanding and go above and beyond for the family, as they have helped during this unfortunate situation.
Fee said she found out about a company called Angels of Flight, based out of Ontario, that’s going to work with them, and Fee said they will be a tremendous help.
“They will provide air ambulance, ground transportation, gather his medical reports, provide the medical team for the transport, and do all communication required between all the hospitals and/or the rehab facility,” said Fee.
The funds would be used to help pay for the flight and the three-week ICU bill. She expects it will be at least $100,000, with multiple CT scans, chest x-rays, ultrasounds, intubation tube and more.
“But for now our focus is getting this medical flight pre-paid for, and getting Louis home to rest in Canada so we can all get home too,” wrote Fee. “We are not the type of family to ask for help like this, and appreciate any and all help we can get them in these horrible times. Words cannot express how grateful we are. Thank you.”
