An Atlanta man says he and his fiancée are being held captive in a Mexico hospital because they can’t afford to pay his $14,000 medical bill.
Stephen Johnson was vacationing with his fiancée, Tori Austin, on a Carnival cruise ship headed to Cancun.
Two days into their trip, Johnson fell ill and was diagnosed with diabetes, and infection/inflammation of the pancreas and kidneys.
Ship doctors recommended Johnson seek emergency treatment at a hospital on the mainland. Johnson was rushed to a hospital where he was in intensive care for three days.
Because Johnson and Austin don’t have insurance, the hospital demanded payment via cash or credit card on the spot.
Johnson is still too sick to be discharged, but hospital administrators told the couple that, if he is discharged, he can’t leave the hospital until he pays.
Austin shared photos of Johnson in a hospital bed with Good American America. “We were physically assaulted by the administrative staff,” Austin told GMA from her fiancé’s hospital room. “They were physically pushing on him!” she added, before adding that hospital workers “locked the windows”.
Austin told GMA that she offered to pay $7,000 in cash upfront and she was willing to work out a payment plan for the remainder of the bill.
Johnson told CBS46 that he is in “hell” and that he and Austin have no idea when they will be allowed to leave the premises.
They are pleading for help from the U.S Embassy and Consulates in Mexico.
Update: Tyler Perry has offered to pay the hospital bills for Stephen Johnson. According to Channel 2 Action News, Perry was watching Good Morning America on Friday morning and saw the couple’s plight.
Channel 2’s Justin Gray had been texting with the couple when he got a call from Perry offering to help. Johnson and his fiancée are on their way home to Sandy Springs, Ga.
