LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- A Lafayette grandmother will be released from a Mexican hospital once she is medically cleared – and she'll have a $107,000 bill to show for her stay.
Brittany Daugherty told RTV6 her grandparents Mo and Dixie Stinson were vacationing in Cancun, Mexico, when her grandmother suddenly grew ill.
Dixie had a heart attack and needed surgery to clear several blockages in an artery. The first surgery wasn't enough, and doctors told her she would need another.
Daugherty said doctors also told her they wouldn't perform the second surgery until the family paid $30,000.
Daughterty says the family had already paid $30,000 for the first surgery.
Now, she says the family still has a $20,000 balance, and the hospital won't release Dixie until it's paid.
"My mind won't stop running," Daugherty said. "Who can we talk to? How can we get help? And for it to happen to people like my grandparents, who would give the shirt off their backs for anybody?"
The family has maxed out their credit cards trying to get Dixie out of Mexico. They said they felt like she was trapped in the hospital.
The family has created a GoFundMe page to help raise the money to get Dixie out of the hospital. Find more information here.
Both Indiana US Sen. Joe Donnelly and Indiana Rep. Todd Rokita have been contacted and have pledged support to help the family get home.The
The United States consulate in Mexico told RTV6 that it is against Mexican law to hold someone for an unpaid bill, but Dixie's case was not specifically addressed.
Friday evening, Dixie's husband said he had sat down and come to terms with the hospital's administrator. The family will still owe the hospital $107,000, but Dixie should be able to leave this weekend.
