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By Teena Monteleone
The mother of a Prince Albert paramedic, one of two struck by a vehicle in Las Vegas, is happy to have her daughter recovering back in Saskatchewan, but the pressure of American medical bills is mounting.
Katrine Sinclair and Charlie Lastowsky were celebrating Katrine’s 21st birthday with another friend when they were struck by a car at a crosswalk in Vegas on April 18. Both sustained severe injuries. Katrine ended up with a fractured pelvis in three places, a broken right humerus, vertebrae fractures and a tibia plateau fracture, among other injuries. By April 22, Roberta Sinclair said the medical bills added up to about $200,000.
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“The girls were flown out April 24 and 25, so the final bill is unknown,” Sinclair told paNOW.
“The air ambulance was $43,500 (U.S.). The Canadian wire transfer was $61,733.95.”
A GoFundMe page for Katrine and Charlie was set up after the accident, and Sinclair said family and friends are looking to hold other fundraisers to help with the growing expenses and the long-term recovery both girls will face. She’s also hopeful Katrine may have some insurance coverage through her SGI package policy, which covers pedestrians.
“I just want this to be a lesson. I want people to learn from it. Life is really unpredictable,” Sinclair said.
“You have to protect yourself when you’re planning a trip. It’s only a minimal extra cost on your trip. Get that insurance. Write down information where you will be and contact information for who is with you, because that was another struggle for us. If something happens, it makes it easier when your support people can contact the resources you need to deal with emergencies.”
Sinclair and Lastowsky were celebrating Sinclair’s 21st birthday in Las Vegas when the accident happened. (GoFundMe)
Sinclair said the accident is still under investigation by Las Vegas police, and there is not yet word on whether any charges are pending. Her focus remains on the girls’ recovery.
“Katrine was sitting up the other day,” she said. “Charlie is actually walking a little bit, so it’s a long road to recovery, but they’re doing great.”
Sinclair thanked the GoFundMe donors and others in the community for the outpouring of support – something she said is great about being a part of a smaller community. She said she was able to use a line of credit to pay part of the first set of bills from the U.S. While waiting for the final amount is adding to an already stressful situation, she said she’s just happy to have the girls back home.
“My hand was shaking (when I wrote the first cheque), but let me tell you, it was priceless to write a cheque knowing you were going to be able to bring your daughter back to Canada where she will be healing,” Sinclair said.
By Wednesday morning, the GoFundMe for Katrine and Charlie had reached almost $90,000.
