Update: David’s insurance company has told them they have a bed. He and his wife are expected to leave Costa Rica on Thursday.
A Hamilton man remains in hospital in Costa Rica, while he waits to be transferred back to Ontario.
David Ronald was badly hurt after falling 12 feet while hiking in Costa Rica last Thursday. He underwent emergency surgery on Friday to repair his pelvis. He and his wife were hoping to return to Hamilton but he says his insurance company told him they can’t secure a hospital bed in Ontario. So on Sunday, David underwent a second surgery to repair his spine and back. He’s now out of ICU.
“The frustration is basically I want to get home with my family and the local care there, because I know they’re quite competent in Canada. Just no availability. There’s no availability for beds. This happened on the 15th of February, the doctors ok’d me three days ago to fly home and I still haven’t received a bed yet.”
Frustrated with their situation, David and his wife turned to NDP leader Andrea Horwath.
“This mess is directly the result of under funding by the Liberal government. I mean they froze hospital budgets for years, they’ve been under funded hospitals for years and now we’re seeing the results with the overcrowding. I’ve said to them not only will we try in our office, but the Premier is going to be hearing abut it absolutely when I get back to question period.” Andrea Horwath.
