‘Worst holiday ever’: Singaporean warns other travelers to take out insurance after hospitalization for brain haemorrhage

SINGAPORE: What was supposed to be their first trip abroad since the COVID-19 pandemic turned into a nightmare for Madame Raha Rahmat and her teenage daughter, when the older woman collapsed on their first night in South Korea.

The 48-year-old single mother was rushed to the nearest hospital where she was diagnosed with a life-threatening cerebral hemorrhage or bleeding in her brain.

To make matters worse, the family had no travel insurance.

Knowing they would have to shell out thousands of dollars for her hospital bills and emergency medical evacuation to Singapore, Raha’s 18-year-old daughter, Mrs. Nur Amiliya Arba’a, found herself at the end of her rope. resources.

Speaking to CNA by phone from Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital in Seoul, the mother-daughter couple said they failed to get travel insurance simply because they didn’t think it was important .

“I did not expect such a terrible thing to happen,” added Mdm Raha.

It was also a hastily planned trip, with Ms Amiliya – a big fan of Korean culture – coming up with the idea in October.

The couple, along with Ms Amiliya’s aunt and cousin, have booked their trip for December 5-14. Everyone except her cousin extended her stay in Seoul to help Mdm Raha when she fell ill.

Ms Amiliya eventually turned to fundraising platform GIVE.asia to pay the hospital bill. Mdm Raha, a contract worker, was unemployed after her last contract ended before they left on the trip.

Within a week, Ms Amiliya managed to raise around S$37,000, slightly more than her initial target of S$35,000 to cover hospitalization and medical evacuation costs.

The Nanyang Fine Arts Academy student and her mother returned to Singapore on Christmas Eve on separate flights. Mdm Raha was later admitted to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) for further treatment.

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