I went on vacation to Greece and wound up in the hospital with cancer

Lifestyle

By Alexandra Klausner

An American woman traveled to Greece — and wound up trapped in the hospital for more than a month.

Sandra Gutierrez flew to Crete in late August to attend a wedding and do some sightseeing with her sister — except, shortly after arriving, Gutierrez noticed bruises on her arms and legs, Today.com reported.

Due to a history of anemia, the Seattleite was inclined not to worry too much. But a friend back home, who works as a physician’s assistant, recommended a blood test as a precautionary measure.

The 43-year-old was quickly diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a type of bone marrow cancer. 

To make matters worse, Gutierrez was trapped in a hospital thousands of miles away from home. Due to her condition, she was in danger of developing a fatal brain or lung hemorrhage — a risk only intensified by the pressurization in an airplane cabin.

“The shocking thing was (they said), ‘You can’t leave at all. You cannot leave because you will hemorrhage. You cannot even go to Athens right now,’” she said. “There are certain things my body has to do before they can say I can safely go back (home) on a commercial flight.”

Gutierrez told Today she expects to be in Greece for at least a month.

“With acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the sooner the treatment, the better, and it has to be in-hospital treatment,” she said.

Her inability to travel means she’s stuck paying out of pocket for medical services in a foreign hospital.

According to a GoFundMe set up to help pay her medical expenses, Gutierrez’ insurance has denied her requests to pay for medical expenses directly. She’s not sure how much she’ll be required to pay in the end.

So far Gutierrez has raised over $98,000 of her $200,000 goal. 

She told a reporter she feels as though she’s been “thrust into another country, another medical system.” 

Worst of all, she couldn’t even attend her friend’s wedding on August 27 — or take any of the side trips she’d planned with her sister Julissa.

Prior to traveling to Crete, Gutierrez said she suffered from a two-week-long period, but since she suffered from irregular periods in the past, she didn’t think it was cause for concern. 

The vexed voyager managed to make a bachelorette party in Crete on August 26, waking up the next morning to discover the bruises.

“When I got to the doctor, he was like, ‘You need to go to the emergency room,’” she said.

Gutierrez said other than the fatigue she assumed was jet lag from traveling, she wasn’t in any type of discomfort. 

In addition to having bone marrow cancer, she was diagnosed with a condition called disseminated intravascular coagulation which causes blood clotting — though doctors were able to treat it. 

Once her platelets are more normal, she’ll be able to go home. Doctors guess she can return home in late September. According to the GoFundMe, she’ll likely start chemotherapy treatment in Greece.

“We’re moving in the right direction,” she says. “I totally feel a lot better than I did.”

A friend of a friend also connected her with Dr. Gail Roboz, a leukemia specialist at New York Presbyterian. Gutierrez hopes to complete her treatment with Roboz when she returns home. She has been already able to consult remotely with the doctor, which she says she is thankful for.

Gutierrez has a word of advice for anyone having symptoms of any kind.

“Slow down and really (listen) to your body,” she said. “I wasn’t slowing down enough.”