Cover abroad: Customers tell us about their emergencies

"What better than to escape the cold weather? My husband I travelled to Thailand in December 2017. Two weeks of sun, sea and palm trees. But a few days into the trip I came down with a fever and shivers. I told myself it was probably just a cold. But then I got diarrhoea as well. A foreign country and foreign food, these things happen. Despite taking medication, I continued to get worse. A few days later I was lying in a hospital bed in Pattaya with blood poisoning. This was not how I had imagined my holiday. And it got even worse: Due to the amount of medication I had to take, I developed inflammation of the colon. After a short period of time an abscess had formed, which recently had to be operated on for the fourth time. When examining me, the doctors also found a tumour in my gall bladder, which – upon my return to Switzerland – turned out to be benign. I don’t know how I would have got through it all without my husband.

And without Helsana, who organised everything. When you’re in that kind of state you can’t think clearly. All the better to know that someone is taking care of all the important things. After more than four turbulent weeks in Thailand, finally I could return home. A bed was set up for me in the front part of the aircraft."

"We had been looking forward to a weekend in Stockholm. The stay ended up lasting one and a half weeks. We spent most of the time in hospital. Or rather, I lay in a hospital bed while my husband was in constant contact with Helsana and the hospital doctors. It all started on the first evening. After we left the restaurant, my stomach started to ache. I thought it was due to the mussels I had eaten. On the third day after the pains had not gone away, my husband rang for an ambulance. I can’t remember much after that point. Thanks to my husband’s persistence, the diagnosis was finally made after three days: a heart attack.

Helsana took care of everything so that I could fly home as quickly as possible. Accompanied by a healthcare specialist, we flew to Zurich where I was immediately taken to hospital and later transferred to a rehab clinic. I feel okay again now. Every day I’m thankful to be alive. I have Helsana to thank for this, as they provided us with support and assistance during that time."