"You're worried about his physical condition that's enough to worry about let alone how am I going to pay this bill?" - Bernadette Givens, wife of Tulsa man who was stranded in Mexico due to hospital bill, is glad to be back home.
A Green Country family was thrilled to be back home Wednesday night after being stuck in Mexico, essentially held hostage over a medical payment.
The couple landed back in Tulsa late Tuesday just before midnight after an exhausting trip.
Their diving excursion to Cozumel ended after an accident, but their trip was extended when the family says they couldn't leave the hospital if payment weren't secured.
"The whole time we're asking the insurance company and they've authorized we need to be there, but when push come to shove and we asked how much they're going to pay we couldn't get a clear and concise answer out of them," said Dewayne Givens, the husband. "So we're kind of stuck in country."
The couple didn't expect to spend an extra four days in Mexico over a hospital bill.
They wanted to spend their 24th wedding anniversary in Cozumel scuba diving.
But their vacation in Paradise cut short when Dewayne had to be rushed to the hospital after losing feeling from his torso down to his legs while diving.
Days of treatment helped him regain the feeling in his legs. Only the family learned they couldn't leave the hospital.
The Givenses say their insurance company, Community Care, was giving them the runaround on sending the Cozumel hospital a guarantee of payment of medical, so they contacted 2 Works for You.
"We contacted y'all, my wife contacted y'all and low and behold about 45 minutes later they (the insurance company) issued a check they called and they did have an answer," Dewayne said. "They did know how much they were going to pay and they issued a check and we paid the balance.
"It didn't have to go to these lengths. It didn't have to go to these lengths. It was plain and simple."
The couple is feeling relieved.
"Make a backup plan for yourself that's not just on your phone," Bernadette warned travelers. "We use our phone like it's everything to us here in America, but when you're in a different country it don't matter."
What have they learned from this whole experience - get travel insurance to avoid problems in "out of country" hospitals.
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