The cost of a medevac flight to bring an injured Calgary man home following a horrific car crash in Asia has his family scrambling to raise $50,000.
John Kelly, who had just begun a position teaching English in Taichung, Taiwan, was walking home on October 1 when he was struck by a car. The 31-year-old suffered severe injuries and was transported to hospital.
Shanon Kelly, John’s mother, learned of the crash through a tear-filled call from John’s girlfriend Mavis. “She said that John’s been hit by a car,” said Shanon. “She’s crying. She’s going ‘they’re doing CPR on him’ in the (emergency room) and I just started crying too.”
The following day, Shanon left Canada to be with her son and Mavis in Taiwan. When she arrived, she discovered the full extent of John’s injuries.
“He’s not responsive," said Shanon. "He just stares off into space. He has a broken neck. He had a dislocated shoulder, a broken collarbone, broken arm, broken leg."
“It’s so hard to watch him lay there and stare into space."
Last weekend, John underwent nine hours of surgical procedures.
“He’s still not responsive. It’s still the brain injury, his brain is swollen. They had to cut off part of his skull to let it expand and he’s on respirator.”
Shanon spent three weeks in the country before returning to her home in Strathmore.
According to Shanon, John was in the process of securing health coverage in Taiwan but the process had been delayed as he awaited his alien residency documentation. Taiwan does not have a Canadian embassy so the Kelly family has been working alongside the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei.
The Canadian government has approached its Taiwanese counterpart in an attempt to activate John’s health insurance and to instigate a full investigation of the crash. The collision was captured by a CCTV camera and the Taiwanese police have launched an investigation. Should the family attempt to secure financial compensation from the driver of the car, the legal battle would likely take years.
Shanon says John’s medical insurance is expected to start this week but his medical costs to date will likely reach 500,000 Taiwan New Dollars (approximately $22,000 CAD). When John is transferred from intensive care to a regular ward, the family will be required to pay roughly $100 CAD a day for an assistant.
Medical officials in Taiwian have recommended transporting the injured man back to Canada for the remainder of his care. The Kelly family has confirmed John, who remains a Canadian citizen, is still covered by Alberta Health but the costs of the medevac flight from Taiwan to Vancouver, estimated at $45,000 CAD, and flight from Vancouver to Calgary, roughly $17,000, would be the Kelly’s to bear.
“Ground and air ambulance services are not covered by the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan, whether that’s within Canada or outside of Canada,” said Cam Traynor, AHS Communications Director in a statement to CTV Calgary. “We recognize the many difficulties faced when dealing with a health emergency in another country, and we empathize with this individual and his family."
The Kelly family has started a GoFundMe page in an attempt to raise funds to cover John’s medical costs and the cost of his medevac flights to Calgary “There’s people out there that have donated that I don’t know,” said Shanon,” For some reason they cared and I’m so thankful they did.”
So far, the ‘Sons medevac from Taiwan to Canada’ fundraiser has garnered nearly $23,000 towards theirryan wh $50,000 goal.
With files from CTV's Alesia Fieldberg
