British student unable to walk after bison attack may be left stranded in US over health insurance, parents say
A British student who is unable to walk after being attacked by a bison may be left stranded in the US after her health insurance said it will withdraw support.
Amelia Dean, 19, was on the second day of a month-long road trip across the US when the male bison suddenly charged at her at Custer State Park in South Dakota.
The animal gored the teenager in her left thigh with its horn before catapulting her "head over heels" about 10-15 feet in the air.
Several weeks after the attack, although the artery and muscle damage is healing, Amelia is unable to walk unaided and continues to suffer severe nerve pain, numbness, hypersensitivity, paralysis, and limited mobility below the knee.
Her parents, Matthew and Jacqueline, set up a GoFundMe page in the hope of raising the money to pay for Amelia's treatment at Mayo Clinic - a global leader in the peripheral nerve field, in Rochester, Minnesota - and the transport costs to bring her home afterwards.
They have so far raised more than £60,000 of their £140,000 target, but have now discovered the air ambulance home will cost more than £100,000 - which the insurance company will cover this weekend only.
Her parents said: "Since launching this fundraiser, Mia's situation has changed and we have had to make some difficult decisions.
"Our daughter's health is our top priority and we want to get her home as safely as possible.
"Now the insurance company has given us an ultimatum: to fly Mia home by air ambulance this weekend, after which they will withdraw funding for her case."
They said if they chose to stay in the US for the specialist treatment "we are then potentially left stranded".
"With so many unknowns for her future treatment needs, we feel we have little choice but to cancel Mia's appointments at the Mayo Clinic next week. We may have to consider coming back to the Mayo Clinic, should it become necessary," they added.
"It's gutting, but we have to do what is best for Mia's recovery... We understand that she will need complex nerve grafts and possibly more than one surgery. The logistics of this are still unclear until Mia sees a peripheral nerve expert.
"She will also need extensive long-term physical rehabilitation, home care, and specialist equipment and of course, we are worried about our daughter's wellbeing after the trauma of the accident, the treatment she has already undergone and the difficulties with the insurance company."
Amelia, known as Mia, reportedly from Surrey, was hiking with a friend and his dog when she came face-to-face with the bison on 16 June.
Speaking from her hospital bed at Monument Health in Rapid City, South Dakota, she described the experience as "surreal".
"We weren't doing anything that really warranted (the attack)," she told local broadcaster KOTA-TV.
"We were just having a walk in the park.
"I remember feeling the pressure on my hip," she said. "My hip being pushed back, and I remember the sensation of flying in the air and going head over heels."
Amelia suffered extensive injuries, including a severed femoral artery and severe damage to her tibial and peroneal nerves - which are part of the sciatic nerve.
She is passionate about dance, her parents said. She took a gap year to travel after being accepted on a degree course at Edinburgh University, due to begin in September.
