A woman suffered a "catastrophic" genital injury in a horror rope swing accident while enjoying a cruise and had to be airlifted to the US. A dream cruise turned into a nightmare on the third day of Kirsten Lindsey's holiday when she tried a "rope swing excursion" and was left seriously injured, reportedly due to a problem with the equipment.
Boyfriend describes injury
Kirsten's boyfriend, Blake Ford, said it was her first-ever cruise, but it turned into a horrifying experience for the couple with "overwhelming" financial implications. Blake described the injury in eye-watering detail, claiming it was caused by an "improperly connected" retrieval line and left Kirsten with what he described as "grapefruit-sized lady bits".
He wrote in a GoFundMe: "What was supposed to be Kirsten’s first cruise turned into the worst experience of our lives. On day three of our Carnival cruise, Kirsten was seriously injured during a rope swing excursion. Based on what we witnessed, a retrieval/tag line appears to have been improperly connected to the swing. As she swung out, the line tightened between her legs just before she dropped, causing a catastrophic injury."
Medical treatment and airlift
Blake described how his partner initially thought the injury was only minor and even tried to laugh through the pain. Over a matter of hours, the swelling became increasingly severe, and the pain escalated to "unbearable" levels. Using a wheelchair to return to their cabin, Blake called the emergency services, and she was taken to the medical centre. He explained that she underwent hours of treatment, but the swelling went to "roughly the size of a baseball".
Doctors on the ship offered the couple three options: be airlifted to the US, try to navigate the hospital system on the Mexican Caribbean island of Cozumel, or remain in the medical centre for the rest of the trip. Choosing air evacuation, they were told they would need to pay a $20,000 deposit (around £15,000), with a further $30,000 (about £22,500) due once they reached the States.
Kirsten also spent about 26 hours in the ship’s medical centre, racking up a bill of roughly $3,500 (around £2,600) - in addition to other medical expenses, including medications. He added: "During that time, her pain became so severe that she could barely move, and at one point, the medical staff told me they were trying to keep her awake because she would stop breathing whenever she drifted off from the pain medication."
Fundraiser and recovery
Eventually, the couple, who've launched a fundraiser to help cover the escalating costs, were flown to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As of July 24, donations totalled $19,278 (about £14,459). Kirsten later had surgery, with medics reportedly saying they had "never seen" an injury like hers before. She shared an update on her recovery yesterday on Facebook (July 23). She thanked everyone who donated and warned that fake GoFundMe pages had been set up using her partner’s name, stressing that they were only running one official fundraiser. In her post, she disclosed that she was now home. "I want to say, thank you a million times to everyone so much for your love and support", she wrote. "It does not go unnoticed."
A spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Line said: "We are aware of reports regarding a guest who was injured while independently exploring Honduras. After returning to the ship, the guest was promptly cared for by our onboard medical team, which provided treatment and facilitated access to additional medical resources. While the incident did not occur on a Carnival-sponsored excursion, we remain concerned for the guest's recovery. The safety and well-being of our guests is always our top priority."
