My husband and I honeymooned in Tulum, Mexico, and it was truly a dream trip. Although lounging at the all-inclusive resort was a delight, we really couldn’t sit there for the entire five days. We made it a point to try one of the excursions included with the trip and opted to visit Chichén Itzá, an ancient Mayan ruin dubbed one of the wonders of the world. The excursion also included a stop at a cenote, a swimming hole in a cave. As we made our way down the slippery steps, I saw the only way to get into the cenote was to jump off a rope and dive in. I froze. I just couldn’t do it.
My new husband had no such reservations and jumped in without the slightest care in the world. But in those two seconds I saw him leap, I imagined the absolute worst. Even though he was safe and all went well, the truth is, some of those international excursions can actually be a little dicey.
Sadly, Los Angeles makeup influencer Nina Bakhshi learned this the hard way.
@ninabakhshi This was supposed to be my birthday trip. Turned out to be my second dhance to live again! One surgery down many to go… hopefully im gonna walk again soon Pray for me! I have a go fund me link in my bio and story to support my hospital bills and recovery expenses ❤️ #GoFundMe #fyp #givemeasecondchance ♬ som original – Tradufznx★
Bakhshi was on a birthday trip to Mexico when tragedy struck and altered her entire life in seconds, the New York Post reported. In a gruesome video, the young woman shared that she fell off a bridge on a remote ATC trail, severely fracturing her spine and neck. The footage shows the moment she fell with her boyfriend in the background, screaming after her.
Rescuers strapped her to a board and carried her for 30 minutes through the remote area, but Bakhshi said an ambulance never arrived. She was taken to two different hospitals, where doctors allegedly refused to treat her until she paid 420,000 Mexican pesos, or $24,000 USD, KTLA reported.
“The worst part of the fall was getting to the surgery,” Bakhshi said. “There were so many obstacles.”
Bakhshi did not have travel insurance, so getting money together was a scramble of wiring funds from friends and family.
@ninabakhshi My drafts now hitting a lot different #fyp ♬ original sound – lyricswithaddie
“The accident was painful, but trying to fight the system to get help for my surgery while I’m being told, ‘You might be paralyzed,’ it was so much, and so scary,” she told KTLA. “I remember my brother was begging the doctors there that we pay the price for the pain medicine, ‘just give her the pain medicine,’ because I was screaming from pain, and they would just say ‘no.’”
It wasn’t until 28 excruciating hours after the accident that doctors finally operated on her spine.
They noted she was extremely lucky to have fallen on leaves or the damage would have been far worse.
“I have a different perspective on life now,” Bakhshi said. “I’m grateful to be alive, and grateful to walk again, hopefully soon.”
The influencer will have to remain in Mexico for two weeks recovering but can then be transferred home to LA to recuperate. She will have to remain in a neck brace for five months and will have to undergo rigorous physical therapy if she hopes to walk again, the Post reported. Bakhshi set up a GoFundMe account to help recoup the costs of surgery and to fund future treatments as needed.
The US Department of State recommends that anyone going abroad purchase travel insurance, as the US government does not help cover medical costs incurred while abroad.
