CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV/Gray News) – A North Carolina family is facing a travel nightmare after a woman was seriously injured in a car crash in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Now the only way to get home is via a special medical flight that would cost $25,000.
Majesty Carr was vacationing with friends in the Turks and Caicos Islands on Friday, her mother Karen McMillan said. She was due to return home on Tuesday, but was seriously injured after a car crash on Sunday and had to be hospitalized, WBTV reports.
“After the accident, she had a broken jaw and a broken arm. Her hip was dislocated and she had internal bleeding,” McMillan said.
Medical experts in the Turks and Caicos Islands did not allow Carr to fly back to the United States on a commercial flight because she was bleeding internally and a commercial flight involved high altitudes. Instead, McMillan said, she was advised to fly Carr out by plane, which would cost nearly $25,000.
McMillan started a GoFundMe campaign asking for help to bring her daughter back to Charlotte so she can be evaluated by medical professionals at home and potentially receive better care.
“Knowing that your child is so far away and in a completely different country and there is no one there to look after them and make sure everything is going right,” McMillan said.
Carr’s mother said she was relying on her faith for her daughter’s safe return.
“She knows she’s coming home. It’s just a matter of when. But I just pray that we can bring her home at some point,” McMillan said.
The family’s GoFundMe campaign has now reached its goal of $25,000.
Although it adds to the cost of a trip, travel agent Karen Utsey says it’s important to get travel insurance before you go on vacation. It can cover more than just lost luggage or canceled flights and can even help in medical situations like Carr’s.
“To return to the States, you often need a special flight and the like, and travel insurance can cover that,” Utsey said.
Utsey said there are other things to consider before traveling, such as making sure you have an emergency contact who knows your travel route and always carrying your medications in your carry-on luggage.
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