There have been a lot of scary moments and feelings of uncertainty for Cindy Rowan over the last week when she’s visited her 18-year-old son Chase Delorme-Rowan in a hospital in the Dominican Republic. But on Wednesday, she simply couldn’t contain her excitement.
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Doctors have decreased his oxygen and sedation, and he doesn’t have pneumonia and doctors will soon be able to remove the ventilator.
“He’s so strong,” said Rowan.
“When he heard my voice, he moved. That moment, I tell ya. That was the first time I got to see his eyes move at all. You know when your eyes move when you’re asleep? None of that was happening, so seeing them move yesterday, it was such a good feeling.“
Delorme-Rowan, who was brutally attacked at a resort bar in Punta Cana while on vacation with his family, has started to show positive signs in his recovery from critical head injuries suffered in the attack.
Her son’s skull was cracked from the front of his forehead to the back of his neck. Doctors had to perform surgery to remove a blood clot the size of a grapefruit and remove part of his skull.
A man from Nova Scotia was charged Monday in relation to the attack on Delorme-Rowan.
Rowan said the doctors in the Dominican Republic have given the go-ahead to start the process for her son to be flown back to Edmonton, but she said due to the hospital bed shortage in Edmonton and across the province, there’s no timetable for when they will be able to return home.
“They said it could take a couple of weeks for them to find a bed in Edmonton,” said Rowan.
“It’s good news, but it’s bittersweet at the same time, because we are now in limbo waiting for a bed to open up, and we’ve been given no timetable on this.”
Hospital bills growing
Rowan said her son’s hospital bills are growing rapidly and they will continue to rise the longer he stays in the hospital in the Dominican Republic.
“The hospital bills are already close to $80,000, and with the type of flight he needs, that will cost $100,000, and if they need to bring a doctor on board, that (cost) will just skyrocket,” said Rowan.
Rowan said she’s thankful that she and her husband had medical insurance through their personal insurance. Without, they’d be absolutely drowning in hospital bills.
She said prior to this incident happening, she had no idea how much coverage she had.
“I didn’t know how much, until we had to make that call, and it’s $250,000. Thank god! I could only imagine if we didn’t have it. We’d have to remortgage our house or something,” said Rowan.
A GoFundMe was started, and it’s reached nearly $50,000, but with the uncertainty of how long she and her son will have to wait in the Dominican Republic before a bed opens up at either the University of Alberta Hospital or the Royal Alexandra Hospital, she’s having to be very cautious.
‘I don’t want to take that risk’
“That’s my fear right now, if we stay longer, I don’t even know what the costs will be,” said Rowan.
“I’m not touching that GoFundMe right now, in case I have to pay out of pocket for something. The last thing I’d want is to not be able to travel back with my son, because we don’t have enough money on our insurance. I don’t want to take that risk.”
Rowan wants her experience to be a reminder for those who travel to be prepared and get travel insurance to make sure you’re covered, just in case something happens where you need medical care.
“I’ve travelled how many times, and I’ve never had to use it,” Rowan said.
“But people need to have travel insurance, because anything can happen in a blink of an eye.”
Violent past
Delorme-Rowan’s alleged attacker, Kyle Stephen Denny, 34, has a history of violence, according to court reports.
Denny was convicted of assault after punching and kicking a man who was fighting someone else at a party 10 years ago. Bail was posted at US$16,000 for Denny and he is under several conditions and can’t leave the country.
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