Health
Yamba man left with $130,000 hospital bill after suffering stroke in Japan
Tom Zdanius reads a book as he lies in a Japanese hospital bed. (Supplied: Lukas Zdanius)
In short:
Yamba man Tom Zdanius suffered a stroke while on holiday in Japan.
He did not have travel insurance, and his hospital bills are now estimated at $130,000.
What’s next?
His family is fundraising and trying to organise a medically supervised flight back to Australia.
Tom Zdanius recently spent his 57th birthday alone in the Iseikai International General Hospital in Osaka.
He suffered a stroke in Japan last month, and has been lying in bed racking up medical bills of about $5,000 a day ever since.
His brother Lukas Zdanius said it was a terrible situation for the family.
“He is partially paralysed, he has lost his voice and ability to eat, and a couple of other things,” he said.
“He is conscious and able to listen, hear and understand.
“If you use letters of the alphabet, you can get him to write words.”
Tom Zdanius and a friend in Japan. (Supplied: Lukas Zdanius)
No travel insurance
Mr Zdanius said learning that his brother, who is from Yamba in NSW, had gone overseas without travel insurance caused the family “a lot of angst”.
“It is a cautionary tale, for sure,” he said.
“Some people seem to get away with it, but you don’t drive a car without insurance, and you don’t travel without travel insurance.
“But there is nothing we can do about that, and the next best thing is to pay it out of our own pockets.”
Mr Zdanius said the family had already made one unsuccessful attempt to organise a medically supervised flight home.
However, his brother took a turn for the worse and wound up back in the hospital.
Yamba man Tom Zdanius suffered a stroke while on holiday in Japan. (Supplied: Lukas Zdanius)
Mr Zdanius said the failed attempt had cost about $30,000.
The family has started a crowdfunding campaign to cover that and other expenses, which Mr Zdanius estimates will eventually exceed $200,000.
“The issue is we need to get the medevac people to take out nine seats of a commercial plane so they can fit a stretcher in,” Mr Zdanius said.
“The only alternative is to get a private jet, which is probably about $300,000.“
A cautionary tale
David Beirman, an adjunct fellow in management and tourism at the University of Technology Sydney, said research showed about 90 per cent of Australians took out insurance before heading overseas.
“I wouldn’t go anywhere without taking out travel insurance, particularly in countries like Japan and the United States, where medical costs are high,” Dr Beirman said.
“I know people often consider it a grudge purchase, and I don’t blame them because travel insurance can be quite expensive.
“But on the other hand, this poor fellow is going through this experience now. Not taking out travel insurance can be a hell of a lot more expensive.“
Dr Beirman, who consults with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) on travel advisories and tourism safety, said it would be wise for the family to seek consular assistance.
“On rare occasions, people can approach DFAT and ask for them to repatriate them in a case of dire need,” he said.
“It will usually be treated as a loan.”
The ABC approached DFAT for comment about Mr Zdanius’s case.
It confirmed it was working to assist a man in Japan, but could not provide more details for privacy reasons.
