A British Columbia grandmother, Lilia Avoutova, remains in a coma in a Kunming hospital in China, her family fighting to bring her home after she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and stroke while on a family reunion trip.
Lilia Avoutova, 78, and her husband Savout, 79, from Burnaby, B.C., had traveled to China to visit Avoutova's birthplace of Xinjiang, an autonomous territory in northwest China. However, Avoutova's health took a turn for the worse, and she was admitted to the hospital on March 8. Her daughter, Elena Lanteigne, has been in Kunming for about three weeks, communicating with doctors through Google Translate due to language barriers.
Avoutova's family is facing a significant financial burden, with medical costs in China amounting to $1,000 per day. The family has been forced to rely on their savings, but these are starting to run out. They are now considering two options to bring Avoutova home: a medical transport flight costing $400,000 or a stretcher service on a commercial airline for $108,800, which poses a higher risk due to Avoutova's condition.
Avoutova's family is grateful for the support they have received from Canadians, with an online fundraising page raising over $16,000 towards their goal.
Avoutova's family is now waiting for her condition to stabilize, with a doctor's suggestion that she wait at least a month or two before traveling to ensure her safety.
The desperation of Lilia Avoutova's family highlights the financial and logistical challenges of medical care in foreign countries, particularly for those without adequate insurance coverage. The fact that her family is turning to online fundraising to cover the costs of her medical transport is a stark reminder of the financial burden that many families face when dealing with medical emergencies abroad.
