Local couple back home after medical emergency on honeymoon

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – What should have been a vacation for one local couple quickly turned into a life or death ordeal.

Tom and Caitlin Day were on their honeymoon in the Dominican Republic. Everything was normal on the morning of Monday, October 26, but by that afternoon, Tom’s Crohn’s Disease was getting out of hand.

“His stomach started bothering him,” Caitlin said. “He wasn’t feeling good. By Tuesday night he was non-stop vomiting.”

Tom was examined at a local clinic but needed to be admitted to the hospital.

“The wheels on the pole wouldn’t work, so she would have to carry me and the pole to the bathroom,” Tom recounted.

“He was so dehydrated,” Caitlin said. “He got one children’s box and a bowl of soup.”

“They would take the same bottles off of my IV pole, put it on the nightstand , and rehook me up to the same ones later on,” Tom said.

The newlyweds switched flights and were preparing to return to the States, but they were not allowed on the plane because of Tom’s ill state.

Caitlin’s mom contacted Angel MedFlight, but it would cost $29,200. So Caitlin’s family took out a loan.

“Once they came in, it was a god send,” Caitlin said. “One on one side; one on the other. Gave him the fluids he needed. Once we got set up on the plane, they gave him morphine just to keep him comfortable. It was amazing.”

If you are planning a trip out of the country and want to protect yourself from a similar situation, you can buy travel insurance to cover the cost of an emergency flight home. For most adults, it costs around $20 per day per person.

Advertisement