I know you have all been wondering………..who won the bet?  How much is the cost of an accident in the USA? How much did it cost to receive treatment after my water skiing accident in the U.S.?  Well wait no more.

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We arrived home last week, and there to greet us was a mountain of mail. Amongst the letters was ‘the invoice’ from Lakes Regional Healthcare in Spirit Lake, Iowa. For those who missed the excitement of my accident, you can relive it with me, by clicking here. In brief, my mind was younger than my body and I thought I could still do a deep water start on one ski, despite not having skied for the past 20 years. It didn’t go as planned and I tore my left hamstring.

The itemised invoice from the hospital included; attendance by paramedics, an ambulance ride to hospital, X-rays, emergency room treatment, Doctors fees, take home drugs, and my very own set of crutches.

I’d love to say that I have fully recovered now, but that’s not the case. Whilst I was able to abandon my crutches within a week of the accident, I continued to walk with the aid of a cane until we reached Cuba. I have now been walking “normally” for about 4 weeks, however, there is still tightness and tenderness in the muscle, and I am suffering “crutch arm” (I’ve got pain in my left shoulder and upper arm as a result of using the crutches and cane).

I visited a physiotherapist last week and she has prescribed a regime of exercise and stretches which should get me back to full fitness within a couple of weeks…..it’s not going to happen overnight. I’m pleased to be back on the bike as part of my exercise, albeit attached to a wind trainer, but next week, I may detach myself from the trainer and hit the road.

Ok…..back to the cost of an accident in the USA. Your guesses ranged from $2,300 to $25,000, and I’m pleased to announce Gail as the winner, with a guess of $2,500. The bill from the hospital totalled $US 2,937.31. I lodged a travel insurance medical claim last week, and will keep my fingers crossed that they come through with a reimbursement. I’ll post a comment below when I get the result, and then close the book on this event.

The moral of the story………….a 55 year old body cannot do the same things in the same way it did at 30.