Mike & Cherie Welsh
SkyMed Champion Cherie Walsh was abroad in Egypt when she slipped and fell. Unfortunately, she ended up hurting the same hip she had replaced nine months earlier back home in Ajijic, Mexico, a beautiful lakeside community just about an hour outside of the city of Guadalajara.
She managed to nurse her injury through the rest of her trip, but her doctor quickly recommended an X-ray upon returning home. As painful as the fall had been, there was even more to it: The examination revealed an infection in the bone and other complications—including sepsis.
Diagnosis in hand, Cherie and Mike decided to have her failed hip replacement taken care of at her hospital of choice in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
It was time to call SkyMed.
“We contacted SkyMed, and they arranged business class tickets for us while I was on the phone,” recalled Cherie. “I’d sent them medical records and ‘Fit to Fly’ forms just that morning! Mike, of course, was going with me.
“SkyMed was responsive from my first email, making sure that Mike and I got to [Chattanooga] flying business class as soon as possible. They also arranged for a rental car, saving us several hundred dollars over the four months we were in the US.
“When it was time to go home again, the return flight was arranged on the day we wanted to get home,” she added. “All of this not only saved us money—it removed a lot of stress at a very difficult time.”
How did you find out about SkyMed, and why did you choose SkyMed?
“We learned about SkyMed at Focus in Mexico.”
What would you tell your friends about your experience with SkyMed?
“We tell people about SkyMed. Even our next-door neighbor signed up! Amazing service!”
REMEMBER
A SkyMed service does not end with a one-way ticket, whether aboard a medically equipped jet or a commercial flight. However long it takes for a Member to heal, SkyMed is there to bring them back home. In Cherie’s case, it took four months for her and Mike to feel ready to return to their ex-pat life in Ajijic—and SkyMed made sure they made it back safely.
