A British Columbia woman facing U.S. hospital bills in the range of $500,000 for injuries suffered in an Arizona skydiving accident, landed safely at Vancouver airport Tuesday night.
Kenzie Markey of Squamish, B.C., was flown to Vancouver from Phoenix, where she had been hospitalized since April 6. The 32-year-old was injured during a skydiving expedition when her parachute collapsed during a jump, which sent her plummeting to the ground.
She suffered a number of serious injuries, including a broken femur, pelvis, toe and ribs, along with facial and head injuries, and a lung collapse.
Her mother, Sherry Jenninson, says Markey’s condition has been improving, but she still has a long recovery ahead of her.
“She had the brain trauma with the brain bleed so…sometimes she make sense and sometimes she doesn’t make sense,” she told CTV Vancouver. “But that’s normal and that’ll get better.”
Markey underwent three surgeries in the U.S., and Markey’s father Joe had estimated the cost to transport his daughter back to Canada by air ambulance would be between $25,000 and $45,000.
However, Joe Markey said British Columbia’s health care system will pay a percentage of the U.S. medical bill equal to the cost for equivalent care in a Canadian hospital.
A fundraiser was started earlier this month to help Markey and her family deal with the mounting bills. Markey had travel insurance, but her policy didn’t cover extreme sports-related accidents.
So far, more than $18,000 has been raised. Markey’s friend Kelley Richardson has set a fundraising goal of $50,000 by June 9.
