Hi gang, the day before we were supposed to fly out of Kuala Lumpur to Sydney to start a new dogsit, my husband had to be rushed to the emergency room for extreme pain in his lower back on the right side of his body and vomitting. After bloodwork and scans, he had to have a kidney stone removed and needed antibiotics for infection. Boy was I under stress. Luckily the surgery went well, and we decided to leave my youngest son behind to take care of him until he was discharged from the hospital while I flew to Sydney with my 2 other kids. Ugh, that didn’t feel good leaving them but the pet parents did not have backup. So I found a new Airbnb for my hubby and son, got everything moved, and then boarded the flight.
We made it here yesterday and the other two will join us next Saturday. Boy oh boy what a week. We were fighting falling asleep while the pet parent was giving us a tour of the house. Eventually we all sat on the couch and my son fell over and actually fell asleep in front of the pet parent. I apologized stating it’s been a crazy 48 hours and he understood completely. He and his wife said they were very very grateful we did what we did to still keep our commitment. They picked us up from airport, took us to Costco so that I could buy groceries, and even left the keys to the car to drive where we wanted and had public transportation cards in case I was too scared to drive on the left side of the street. I’m so grateful my husband is well, that my son is old enough to be left behind to take care of his dad, and that these pet parents went out of their way to make us feel welcomed. Other than the fact that I didn’t have travel medical insurance, I’m grateful for the outcome and that we petsit as a family to be able to split up…
@IHeartAnimals Oh wow- how super stressful for you all. So glad to hear your hubby is doing well and the rest of you arrived safely in Sydney. What an experience.
Better get that insurance sorted asap!! You never know when something could happen to any member of your family Take and hope guys can all relax and recover over Christmas
Thank you @Lokstar The goofy thing is, I looked at travel medical insurance a few times before we left the state. Those insurances aren’t really meant for families/long-term travels so we took a shot at just paying out of pocket. Ugh. I guess that’s why they call this life and not fairytales. All is good though.
Wow @IHeartAnimals what a stressful time for you all. Hope your hubby recovers well and he and your son travel safely at the weekend. You really have shown your commitment to your Sydney HOs who have appreciated it.
Welcome to Oz! Hopefully once your hubby and son are with you, you will enjoy your time here.
@Swannies Yes absolutely! We always have medical travel insurance- a long term worldwide policy. In the UK most travel insurance includes everything- medical & possessions, flight cancellation etc But in Germany, where we get ours from, you can choose medical only- its cheaper, and that is always our priority- Since medical is by far the most important and potentially costly outlay especially if repatriation to the home country is needed! I often read of people having accidents abroad and setting up a GoFundMes to get them flown home when a simple travel insurance would have covered it! @IHeartAnimals You are lucky this happened in Malaysia where costs are lower! As @Swannies says if you have a recipricol medical agreement e.g UK with Australia that helps for emergancies but repatriation is not usually covered.
@Lokstar Yes, we were talking about that. 2 of the doctors told my husband the cost would be very high so my husband was afraid it was going to be like $30,000-$40,000 USD. He still needs to get the medical stent out this Thursday but I estimate that total it will be about $4,700 USD. Thank goodness it happened in Malaysia of all places. Luckily, no GoFundMe needed in our case.
@IHeartAnimals that is still a huge cost that insurance would have covered. Are you able to initiate a travel insurance from Australia for the rest of your travels? Or is it only possible from your home country?
E g I would never dare to go to the USA without medical cover as the potential costs could be crippling!! Everyone knows the US has the most ridiculously high medical costs… And the US no reciprocal agreement with Australia…
So sorry to hear your story and hope your husband recovers quickly. Kidney stones are extremely painful. Well done for continuing with the housesit in Sydney and lovely to hear that your efforts to continue with the sit were appreciated by the owners. You will no doubt get a glowing review from them. All the best for a happy Christmas together
Take and hope guys can all relax and recover over Christmas
for trusted house sitter of 2024 goes to… 
And the US no reciprocal agreement with Australia…