A Los Angeles woman has described how she was forced to max out credit cards and rely on donations after being denied emergency surgery in Mexico following a horror ATV crash that left her paralysed.
Nina Bakhshi, 29, was on a birthday trip in Cancun when she fell 22 feet from a bridge during a guided ATV tour. Her boyfriend's tyre became stuck in a wire, causing the vehicle to flip. While he became trapped in the wire, Bakhshi fell, fracturing her spine and neck.
She was carried for 30 minutes and then driven to hospital in the back of a truck, as no ambulances were available. However, doctors refused to treat her unless she paid 420,000 Mexican pesos (approximately $24,000). Bakhshi told local media that the worst part of her fall was 'getting to the surgery' due to the obstacles.
With no travel insurance, she relied on help from friends and family, maxing out credit cards to fund the operation. She began surgery 28 hours after the fall, with doctors saying she was 'extremely lucky' to have landed on leaves.
Bakhshi is expected to return to Los Angeles within weeks and will require physical therapy to walk again, with her neck brace to be worn for around five months. Despite the ordeal, she said she is 'grateful to be alive' and now has 'a different perspective on life'.
A GoFundMe page has raised nearly $50,000 to cover her ongoing medical expenses, including untreated fractures in her neck and long-term rehabilitation.
