A Brit denied surgery in America over a bill says she is trapped there as flying home could prove fatal.
A hospital is demanding £30,000 from Emma Getvoldsen to remove her ovary, which has regrown for a second time.
Emma, 40, is in agony but is stuck because she has had drugs to enlarge her ovary before the op.
She said: “Flying home could kill me because my ovary could burst mid-air. Until I find the money I’m stuck.”
She made news in 2017 when an ovary regrew three years after a hysterectomy.
As UK doctors did not know how to treat the rare condition she raised £25,000 for treatment at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.
She returned there in January when it grew back again but four days before surgery the hospital said it would not go ahead.
(Image: Emma Getvoldsen)
It said she owed it £55,000 for previous treatment and £29,000 for the new surgery.
Stunned Emma had no idea she owed money, having previously paid an “estimated” price for her hospital stays up-front.
But Northside had revised the cost and sent new bills to the wrong address.
Emma was expecting to get a 75 per cent discount – paying about £7,000 – by shelling out in advance for her latest op. But due to the debt the hospital is refusing Emma money off.
Emma said it cut the total amount owed to £30,000 but she did not have the money.
(Image: Robyn Aldridge/MEGA)
Recruitment manager Emma, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, is staying with a relative about 45 minutes from Northside.
She is missing her dad, who is recovering from cancer, her mum and her partner.
Emma, who has been unable to work since 2016, is in a lot of pain with multiple cysts on the ovary and suffers from migraines, sickness, a raised temperature, back and leg pain.
She said: “Even if I could fly back to the UK, I don’t want to go home until I’ve had the surgery. It’s my only chance of living a normal life again.”
A Northside spokeswoman said: “Estimates are calculated based on historical averages for surgical procedures.
“As we cannot predict the care a patient will ultimately
receive, the final bill could differ substantially from the original price estimate.”
Emma’s pals have set up a crowdfunding page to help raise the money. To give visit, click here .
