To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

British woman stuck in Kenya with organ failure facing £80,000 medical bills after simple mistake on health insurance form

British woman stuck in Kenya with organ failure facing £80,000 medical bills after simple mistake on health insurance form

They went out there to celebrate her husband's cancer-free diagnosis

A woman who went to Kenya is now stuck there after she suffered from liver failure which has racked up some costly medical bills - something her insurance won't be able to cover.

77-year-old British woman Lee Flint travelled to Kenya with her husband Jack on 16 September to conduct charity work and celebrate Jack's diagnosis of being cancer free.

However, after a few weeks there Lee was found unresponsive in her bed and rushed to the Mombasa Intensive Care Unit, with doctors saying she had suffered grade four kidney and liver failure and that her organs were shutting down.

The woman remains in a critical condition as she has suffered from internal bleeding and blood poisoning, but her family are unable to claim health insurance cover for the cost of her £80,000 medical bills as Lee did not declare any pre-existing conditions.

77-year-old Lee Flint and her husband Jack flew out to Kenya in September, but while there she suffered from organ failure (Kennedy News and Media)
77-year-old Lee Flint and her husband Jack flew out to Kenya in September, but while there she suffered from organ failure (Kennedy News and Media)

Lee's son Jamie, 52, said that his mum had gone for a blood test and scan before she journeyed to Kenya but didn't tell people about it, and he thinks she might have done it to avoid worrying her husband.

When Jack filled in the holiday insurance forms for the couple's trip to Kenya he didn't write anything down about the tests because he didn't know about them, which has voided the insurance.

Jamie, from Addlestone, Surrey, said: "After my dad had finished his chemotherapy and my mum was his main carer which took a lot out of her, they inevitably made a mistake on the insurance form.

"A few months before that my mum had been to the doctor's. My mum didn't want to stress my dad out, she kept it to herself. But in the meantime she was becoming poorly and we didn't realise.

"My dad was filling out the insurance form on his laptop and made a mistake and that's why it's invalid. It's a living nightmare really."

Lee's son said that he feels 'completely helpless' as his mum is stuck in Kenya and he's back in England, and the family have no idea whether or not the 77-year-old knew what her test results were as she is currently unable to speak.

Lee's holiday insurance won't cover her expenses as she went for some tests before travelling and didn't declare the results to anyone (Kennedy News and Media)
Lee's holiday insurance won't cover her expenses as she went for some tests before travelling and didn't declare the results to anyone (Kennedy News and Media)

Lee and Jack have been carrying out charity work in Watamu, Kenya for over three decades and would often stay there for months at a time. On this latest trip, they had travelled over with 62kg of clothes and reading glasses to distribute to schools and orphanages.

Jamie has since set up a GoFundMe, which you can donate to here, with the aim of raising enough money to get his mum back to the UK where she can continue to receive treatment.

He's halfway to his goal and said: "Just be absolutely thorough when you do something like this, go over and over it again if you're elderly or have any past history of being poorly.

"You've got to do it and you do feel a bit of anger during these companies, they are what they are, you have to do these things correctly. I wouldn't want this to happen to anyone else. All I want is for my mum to come home but the hospital bills are extortionately high.

"I am absolutely humbled by the people, I'm not great with social media but I feel completely humbled and blessed, it makes me almost cry when I think about it."

Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and Media

Topics: Travel, Health, GoFundMe, UK News, World News