Don Sweet – San Francisco, California
My wife and I had been traveling in Russia and this was our first time taking the winter cruise between St. Petersburg and Moscow-Minsk. After three days on the cruise I noticed I had blood blisters here and there and bruise-like marks on my body and went to see the doctor on board. I was told I needed to see another doctor because they thought I needed platelets and that I would be back on the ship a few days later, but that’s not what happened. I was taken to a local medical clinic but they couldn’t treat me and sent me to the ICU at the hospital in St. Petersburg. My blood platelet count was the lowest they had ever seen and I was given a blood transfusion immediately. I was in no condition to fly home at that time.
A few days later my daughter contacted Global ETS and explained the situation to them and they immediately began making arrangements to get us back to the US. On board the air ambulance with my wife and I were two pilots and two medical assistants who were very nice. We have traveled all over the world, but it was a great pleasure when we left the runway in Russia. I felt very relieved. We made four stops on the way home in Iceland; Newfoundland; Ontario; and Alberta, Canada and finally arrived in San Francisco where I was admitted to the University of California San Francisco Hospital. The oncology department knew what was going on right away and took care of me. Three days later I was released.
How did you find out about Global ETS and what would you tell your friends about your experience? We heard about Global ETS about five years ago from a friend of ours who had been taken home after being rescued while on a cruise. When we found out he had this coverage we bought the same coverage the very next day even though we had no trip planned at that time. We’ve kept our membership ever since and have told countless people about it who also bought it the day after we spoke. To those who don’t have it yet, we tell them they had better get it because it literally saved us thousands of dollars.
Today I’m doing just fine and we are certainly grateful for what everyone did for us. The services were great, the flight went perfectly, and we couldn’t have asked for anything better.
