2 paramedics struck by car in Las Vegas have returned to Sask. with massive medical bills
CBC
Two young Saskatchewan women who went to Las Vegas to celebrate a birthday and their recent graduation as paramedics — and were hit by a car at a crosswalk in the city — are now back in their home province.
On top of multiple broken bones and a lot of pain, Katrine Sinclair and Charlie Listowski were left with huge medical bills for the treatment they received at a U.S. hospital.
Roberta Sinclair, Katrine's mother, said Katrine's bill after two to three days in the hospital was $144,000 US.
"I actually wrote a cheque and my hands were shaking," Roberta said on CBC Saskatchewan's The 306. "I wrote a cheque for $21,621. I've never written such a big cheque in my life."
Roberta said she was surprised to receive an invoice for treatment upfront.
"We Canadians never see the cost up front for a medical [expense] and in the States they hand you an invoice with itemized items," she said. "My daughter had to have six CT scans for $38,000 to $40,000 [US]."
Meanwhile, the air ambulance they used to transfer her daughter ended up costing around $45,000 US.
"It's incredible the cost, but this was a situation where [we thought] you know what, we need to do this," said Roberta. "You cannot put a price tag on your child's life."
Family, friends and community members have raised close to $90,000 via a GoFundMe campaign started by a family friend of Sinclairs.
With the women now back in Saskatchewan, Roberta said they are finding more fractures and broken bones as the swelling goes down.
Katrine has a broken right humerus, one broken rib on her right side, three pelvis fractures, L3, L4, L5 vertebrae fractures and a tibia plateau fracture.
Being a paramedic has helped Katrine accurately assess her pain for doctors.
"She's able to analyze herself," Roberta said. "She was saying, 'My knee is really sore. It's more swollen. This isn't right.' I think that's one of the biggest things she says is they're listening to her."
Roberta used a line of credit to help pay some of the hospital bill and the air ambulance. She thanked the community, first responders and people who have donated.
About 100 people gathered outside the Colonial Building in St. John’s on Saturday for an anti-war rally. They were met with some counter-protesters, highlighting different views on the Iran war.
The two candidates hoping to become Quebec's next premier in less than a month took part in a first official sparring match Saturday, with Christine Fréchette accusing her opponent of having a big ego and bringing the debate over shale gas back to the forefront.
Amanda Lathlin, the first First Nations woman to be elected to the legislative assembly in Manitoba's history, has died, the provincial NDP said on Saturday.
Colten Poitras describes Indian relay as an extreme sport.
After more than 48 hours of heavy rainfall, conditions began to ease Saturday morning, but the City of Fernie, B.C., says untreated wastewater is still being released into the Elk River.
An Alberta town reeling from the loss of its rinks has advanced to the final stage of a national competition, with $250,000 on the line.
Members of the new Arctic Canada Tourism Network want to make sure their industry has a voice in conversations about the future of the Arctic.
People continue to flock to Banff National Park.
Two Toronto councillors have brought forward a motion to ban raising foreign flags at Toronto City Hall and civic centres.
Thousands of Maritime Electric customers in multiple communities across Queens County are without power Saturday morning.
Three weeks into the conflict in the Middle East, the joint U.S.-Israel onslaught has killed much of Iran's leadership, knocked out much of its ballistic missile capability, sunk nearly all of its navy and, according to U.S. President Donald Trump, has "militarily WON" the war already.
Sometimes to understand the weather, you have to fly straight into it.
When he was a student at what was then known as the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax, Andrew Scott had a professor who regularly said that painting was something that could be done until someone dropped dead, while rock n' roll had a best-before date.