Support Dan's Recovery and Safe Return Home

We never thought we’d have to make one of these but our dad is stuck in another country and in need of medical treatment.

On Wednesday, August 21, 2024 our dad arrived in Jamaica for a five day trip. He was excited to go. He’s never been out of the country before.

By Thursday afternoon, we get a call stating Dan had a stroke and the hospital will not accept his insurance. The hospital was requesting 20k USD to treat him for the day. Dan was unable to move the left side of his body and had minimal mobility on his right side. In addition his ability to be able to communicate verbally has been impacted. We sent the requested funds to the hospital so Dan can be treated and by Thursday evening we received the following test results: his white blood cell count is high, he has a cardiovascular infection and a pneumonia. Dan was treated with medications in an attempt to reverse the effects of the stroke, but we won’t know the severity of what this will look like at this time. The hospital wants more money to continue to treat him. If they do not get the money they will discharge him to a public hospital which we were told looks worse than anything any of us have seen on TV when it comes to healthcare in a foreign country. The public hospital does not have an MRI or cat scan machine.

The US embassy has been notified and they confirmed this is common for tourists in Jamaica. They also confirmed the hospital he is in is a private hospital, who has a right to charge an exorbitant amount of money and a right to deny patients medical care. They provided us with a contact for a medical air transport company out of Florida in hopes that we can get Dan back to the US for proper treatment and medical care.

At this time, our dad remains in the ICU in Montego Bay while we wait on a call requesting another 20k to treat him. We are in touch with the transport company to determine next steps and confirm if Dan is a candidate for them to safely fly home. Unfortunately, the earliest they may be able to get him home is Monday which leaves us with medical costs throughout the weekend. Any donation however big or small will be so appreciated. Our goal is to get Dan stabilized and back to the US as quickly and safely as possible.

Thank you,

The Alotta Family

Jesse, Danielle & Sam.