In late May, I dislocated my elbow at a queer wrestling event in Portland, OR. I've been trying to stay more active: bouldering, salsa dancing, acro yoga. But wrestling was a bad idea. I didn't have any experience, and the organizers gave only a basic safety briefing. Before I knew it I'd been thrown to the mat at a weird angle, and my right forearm was dangling awkwardly by my side.
I wasn't in much pain yet, so my first thought was simply that I’d go to an urgent care, get it put back in place, and carry on with my life. I had articles to write, a catsit to get back to, a friend’s wedding coming up, and non-refundable plane tickets to my next destination in just over a week.
But the urgent care referred me to the ER, where the doctor told me that they’d have to put me under anesthesia to relocate the elbow; it would only take a few minutes, and wouldn’t require surgery, but my muscles would resist if I were conscious. Afterwards, they’d put me in a splint for a week.
I’d never had anesthesia, or even been to the emergency room before, but I felt comfortable knowing that I had Genki travel insurance with up to €1,000,000 of coverage in “Every country. Any doctor or hospital,” including repatriation to my home country, Australia. I’d even paid extra for full coverage in the U.S.
What I didn’t realize was how much of my recovery would be spent trying to get them to honor that coverage – and why a second type of insurance that I hadn’t even realized I had ended up covering me instead.
