When Veronique Fitzner’s twins, Yannick and Felix, were born five weeks prematurely in Vietnam, anxious doctors put their survival at 50/50. Immediately after birth, Yannick required advanced resuscitation, whilst Felix needed oxygen to combat a form of pneumonia.
Veronique was told that she would have to be transferred to a state hospital which had a neonatal intensive care unit. Unfortunately, though, she was appalled by the standards she experienced, describing the hospital as being overcrowded, dirty and unhygienic, with rats running across the floor. She was also offered very limited access to her babies.
That’s when William Russell’s claims team came to the rescue. Veronique and her partner Markus discovered not only the value of their William Russell Global Health cover, but also the value of our family-focused commitment to personal service. The hospital contacted our claims manager, Katy Butler, to demand a guarantee of payment for the twins’ treatment. Katy explains, “We immediately guaranteed payment under Veronique’s Group Plan. But when we saw the clinical reports, our medical team realised the seriousness of the case. Our chief medical officer immediately advised that evacuation by air ambulance to Bangkok was the best option.”
Katy continues, “We used a combination of Veronique’s evacuation benefits and the twins newborn allowance to make sure that the parents had the maximum amount of money available from the Group Plan to ensure the twins received the best possible care. We worked round the clock to provide the parents with all the support and reassurance that we could at this critical time.”
Yannick was taken by air ambulance to Samitivej Hospital in Bangkok with his father. Meanwhile, Felix, who was too ill to be moved, stayed in the intensive care unit in Ho Chi Minh City, receiving continuous antibiotics, chest therapy and oxygen. Before long, he had thankfully progressed sufficiently for the family to be reunited. Mother and baby were flown to Bangkok, where the twins were finally placed in the same cot together for the first time.
Veronique is delighted at the support and commitment shown by William Russell’s claims team. “I can’t speak too well of [William Russell]” she said. “All the initiatives came from [them], not from us – we were too concerned coping with the immediate problems. We expected to pay for the emergency evacuation […] but all the decisions William Russell made were in our favour.”
“We were delighted with William Russell’s service and have told all our friends. We were amazed that you got in touch with us before we even made a claim and then went out of your way to find ways to pay for the twin’s treatment and air evacuation without being asked. I really cannot thank you enough for everything that you have done for us and for Yannick and Felix, including all your kind thoughts and phone calls to see that all was well.”
Veronique’s health plan cost her US$1,649, but we paid out a total of US $50,587 for the twins’ treatment and air evacuation, showing just how valuable top quality international private medical insurance can be when you really need it. Happily, Yannick and Felix are now both fit and well, and were thankfully able to fly back home to Berlin recently to meet their relatives for the first time.
Reproduced with kind permission of Veronique Fitzner.