Doctors went slightly overboard on this cruise ship.
A vacationer within the UK claimed that he was unwillingly airlifted to a hospital 800 miles away after the vessel’s physician mistook his “pulled muscle” for a serious infection.
“I just can’t understand it — I used to be feeling totally panicked and offended,” lamented Stephen Cassidy, 60, to South West News Service.
The Dorset native had reportedly spent £3,598 (about $4,464) on a two-week cruise to Norway with Princess Cruises to rejoice his wife Carol’s sixtieth birthday in addition to their fortieth wedding anniversary.
It was smooth sailing until midway through the voyage when the music teacher felt a pain in his thigh.
As he’d had a hip alternative on that side, the concerned castaway visited the ship’s doctor, who, after conducting a physical examination and X-ray, determined that something was awry.
“The ship’s doctor told me that something in certainly one of the blood tests he carried out suggested I had infection in my hip,” recalled the previous army reservist, who was subsequently administered IV drips thrice a day for nearly every week.
The cruise ship was originally slated to moor in Iceland, where Cassidy could visit a health care provider before coming back aboard. Nonetheless, the boat was unable to stop, so the physician as a substitute sent the orthopedic X-rays to a surgeon, who determined that there was nothing to fret about and that he could stay aboard.
All seemed hunky dory until a nurse asked the previous police dog handler his weight and told him that his wife needed to pack his bag because he had to go away.
The Brit was devastated. “I asked if I could leave the medical center to pack my very own bag — they said no and I felt like a prisoner,” recalled the aghast Cassidy, who realized he was going to miss his wife’s birthday.
“When he said you’re going off, I checked out my wife and said ‘have a pleased birthday tomorrow’ — the doctor obviously knew he’d caused great deal of upset,” the besieged senior said.
As well as, from that time on, the medical staff went “from being friendly” to “suddenly very hostile,” in response to the patient.
Despite having the ability to walk, Cassidy was allegedly put in a wheelchair and wheeled out onto the deck, where he and two other unwell passengers were evecuated off the ship via helicopter.
The trio was then flown some 800 miles to the Gilbert Bain Hospital in Lerwick for a medical examination.
That’s when the patient learned the appalling truth: he didn’t have an infection and the injury was probably a pulled muscle.
His cruise of a lifetime had been cut short over probably the most innocuous of injuries.
“Subsequently we were all told that none of us were in a medical emergency and I used to be told I had a muscle sprain and nothing more,” lamented the flabbergasted Brit. “I never must have been medically disembarked from the ship — I used to be absolutely fuming.”
The financial injuries he incurred were way more grievous. Along with blowing 1000’s on a cruise that was aborted halfway through, Cassidy had also forked out over $1,000 for flights home and an evening in a hotel.
And while his insurance company reportedly covered the medical expenses, Cassidy felt just like the cruiseliner should’ve footed the bill because they didn’t consider his anxiety and depression when forcing him to disembark.
“I feel Princess ought to be paying this because I’m now 60 and I’ve got pre-existing conditions,” he lamented. “It’s only matter of time before premiums go up or firms stop covering me.”
When approached for comment, a Princess Cruises spokesperson refused to debate the case intimately, simply saying that Cassidy’s allegations were “without merit,” the DailyMail reported.