Alberta woman’s $100K medical ordeal in Japan highlights value of travel insurance

A woman from Okotoks, Alberta is reflecting on what she calls her “$100,000 trip” after a sudden health emergency left her hospitalized in Japan this past July — a situation that underscores the importance of having travel insurance when travelling abroad.

Dione Amundson and her son, Peyton, were only four days into a two-week vacation when she began to feel something unusual.

“Wasn’t sure what was going on, just that it was uncomfortable and it continued to get more and more uncomfortable,” Dione told Global News, which first reported the story.

She was eventually rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors discovered she had suffered a perforated intestine. Infection had already set in, and she was septic.

Initially placed on antibiotics, her condition failed to improve. “Still didn’t see 100 per cent progress,” Peyton told the news outlet. “So, they did emergency surgery later that week and then it was steps from there to give her rehabilitation and getting her home.”

Family members quickly flew to Japan to support Peyton and his mother through the crisis — and to help navigate the financial logistics of paying for urgent surgery in a foreign country.

“(The hospital) wanted me to pay either in one payment on my credit card or in cash. And I said my credit card cannot physically do that and I don’t know what bank will give me over $40,000 in foreign cash,” Peyton was quoted as saying.

A family friend also launched a GoFundMe campaign, which raised more than $20,000 to help offset unexpected expenses.

Instead of two weeks, the trip stretched into more than a month before Dione and Peyton finally returned home to Okotoks on Aug. 21. Between surgery, cancelled flights, extended accommodations, and lost wages, the overall cost of the ordeal approached six figures.

Dione's hope is that travel insurance, through her employer, will cover about 80 per cent of those expenses.

According to Calgary-based Lesley Keyter, known as The Travel Lady, that kind of protection is essential.

“People then go the route of GoFundMe, they’re calling the Canadian consulate,” she told Global News. “The Canadian government is always advising people to take travel insurance, we cannot cover you for medical expenses when you’re out of the country.”

Despite the ordeal, Dione and Peyton say they won’t let the experience stop them from travelling – the mother and son say they plan to return to Japan eventually.

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