‘Hostage Situation’: Sanford man forced to pay thousands before emergency heart surgery in Mexico

ORLANDO, Fla. — A Sanford couple planned to enjoy a relaxing cruise in Mexico to end 2023.

But when Bill Nelson had a heart attack on board the ship, their vacation quickly became a nightmare. It turned into what his wife, Shelly, described as a “hostage situation.”

A Playa del Carmen hospital demanded $35,000 before doctors would start Bill’s surgery. It doesn’t include the thousands of dollars more to get him to the hospital.

Shelly Nelson says it all started last Monday.

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“My husband said ‘I think you need to call somebody. I think I’m having a heart attack,” Nelson said.

Medical staff quickly rushed Bill to the cruise ship infirmary, but said he had to be transferred to a hospital on shore in Mexico.

The ship ported in Costa Maya, but Nelson was taken to Amerimed Hospital, 4 hours away in Playa del Carmen.

Once the couple got to the hospital, staff didn’t rush Nelson into surgery, and instead, demanded $35,000.

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“I’m like, I don’t have $35,000, what am I going to do. And he said, we can’t go forward until we have the money,” Nelson said, referring to a conversation with a hospital administrator.

Nelson told Channel 9 she had to call family members to split up thousands of dollars worth of payments on credit cards.

Roughly 10 hours after arriving to the hospital, Bill underwent surgery.

But doctors told his wife, he would need another surgery three days later.

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“And it’s going to be $38,500 more. I’m like, I don’t know what to do,” Nelson said, talking about the conversation with hospital staff.

Nelson told Channel 9, their insurance even pleaded with the hospital to go ahead with the surgery and the insurance would pay later. She says the hospital would not cooperate.

She told hospital staff, she wanted her husband to be discharged so he could be treated in the United States. The hospital refused, she said.

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“He looked at me, and he goes, you can’t discharge him. I’m not going to give him a ‘fit to fly.’ He’s not stable to fly. He could die on the plane on the way home,” Nelson said, recalling a conversation with a hospital administrator. “And I’m like, so what am I going to do?”

Nelson took to social media. Through friends, her family was then able to connect with Jet I.C.U, an air ambulance service. The service said it could fly Nelson to the Fort Lauderdale area for a price tag of more than $20,000. Quickly, dozens in Central Florida donated, raising more than $19,000 to get Bill and Shelly Nelson back home.

LINK TO GO FUND ME: https://www.gofundme.com/f/emergency-procedure-for-bill-nelson?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_content=facebook_cta_control&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

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