Family and friends of a Canadian woman who was badly injured in a skydiving accident in the U.S. are raising money to help with her massive medical bill.
Pemberton, B.C. resident Kenzie Markey, who was born in Greenwood, N.S., was skydiving in Arizona on April 6 when her parachute reportedly collapsed from wind turbulence.
The 32-year-old tumbled to the ground, breaking her skull, eye socket, nose, pelvis, femur, toe and elbow, according to a crowdfunding page set up by friends. She also suffered a collapsed lung.
“She is stable and progressing,” said an update posted on Markey’s Fundrazr campaign page. “She still has more surgery to come and a very long road to recovery.”
Kenzie, who is described as an avid skydiver and thrill seeker, hasn’t been stable enough to be airlifted back to Canada, resulting in an enormous $500,000 medical bill south of the border.
The week that she was skydiving in Arizona Kenzie had already completed more than 20 jumps and had successfully landed several that day. Her dad, Joe, described what happened as a ‘freak accident’.
To make matters worse, the trip back to Canada could cost up to $45,000, according to Joe.
“The air ambulance will want a guarantee of payment before airlifting her… another big hurdle to jump over,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
So far, friends, family and strangers have raised $13,821 towards the goal of $50,000.
It is anticipated that Kenzie will be moved back to B.C. soon, once a bed becomes available, but doctors do not know if Kenzie will have any long-term brain injuries from what happened.
According to reports, Kenzie did have insurance, however her policy did not cover injuries related to extreme sports.
President of Travel Best Bets Claire Newell explained that each travel insurance provider has different policies regarding extreme sports.
For example, RBC sells skydiving, bungee jumping, scuba, and safari insurance for travel, but doesn’t provide coverage for rock or mountain climbing, professional sports or motorized racing.
Comments