Canadian family hit with $80K medical nightmare during Dominican vacation

An Alberta couple’s dream vacation to the Dominican Republic has turned into a nightmare after a medical emergency that has them asking for help.

Paul and Deanna Fekkes from Carseland, which is just outside of Calgary, were just three days into their two-week-long vacation in the Dominican Republic late last month when Deanna was rushed to the hospital due to an ulcer rupture in her stomach and needed emergency surgery.

According to a GoFundMe set up for Deanna, her appendix, spleen, and 12% of her stomach were removed because of the ulcer, and she was placed in a medically induced coma to let her body heal.

After the surgery, she was hit with a post-operation infection along with fluid in her lungs, and now her family is trying to get her medically evacuated out of the Dominican and back home to receive more care, which would cost around $80,000 with insurance covering $25,000.

The GoFundMe money, which has already amassed $3,800, will help cover the expenses and get her back home to Alberta.

“It has been incredibly hard and stressful for everyone involved as there is so little we can do here for them, and they are doing the best they can under the set of circumstances they’ve been given,” the couple’s daughter, Brianna Fekkes, wrote on the GoFundMe.

“I would like to raise some money for them so when they do finally make it home, they have the funds to pay the bills that have been incurred due to her medical emergency.”

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According to the latest update on the GoFundMe, Deanna is set to go through a second surgery in the hopes of being able to fly without medical transport within a week of the surgery.