Life Saving Helicopter Flight

Dion is my 29 year old son who lives in Australia. He was born with a heart disease called Tricuspid Atresia, essentially his heart was not formed properly. Throughout his childhood he received 6 Open heart surgeries to manage this serious condition with his last surgery taking place when he was 14 years old. To monitor his condition he undergoes yearly check-ups and all had been well for nearly 15 years.

In August 2013 I moved to NZ which meant we only caught up roughly once a year when I would go back to visit. For the first time since I moved away, Dion came over to see me in September last year. I had a lovely 2 week trip planned for him to make the most of the few times we get to see each other.

Things took a turn for the worse when halfway through our trip Dion started to have a serious cardiac event. Fortunately, I am a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician for St. John Ambulance, and I was able to quickly identify the danger he was facing and immediately call the St. John Ambulance. They then in turn requested an emergency Helicopter to airlift him from Hamner Springs to Christchurch. As a mother I was worried sick about him especially being so remote and far away from his cardiac specialists in Australia. Thankfully, Dion was subsequently stabilized and he returned to Brisbane cutting his trip short.

Once back and assessed by his cardiac team at the Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane, Australia, Dion underwent his 7th open heart surgery. The surgery replaced 2 valves and fixed the issue that caused the life threatening event in NZ and once again saving his life.

After months of jumping through hoops with his travel insurance Dion has just found out that they will not cover his helicopter bill of $8000 due to the "pre-existing conditions" clause in the fine print. To make matters worse because of his operation late last year he was off work for 3 months with a portion being unpaid due to running out of sick and holiday leave (Thankfully his employer was flexible and understanding throughout the entire time).

All this has put Dion in a very awkward financial situation, while he is very happy to be alive and well, he still has the financial burden of an $8000 bill. Any help to assist with clearing this bill and putting an end to what has been a stressful and crazy last 6 months for Dion, myself and his close family would be greatly appreciated. Any excess monies raised above and beyond this bill, will be donated to St. John Ambulance here in NZ for their truly life saving work.

Thank you all so much for your consideration.