The family of an American tourist in Bali is pleading for online donations to help bring her home to the US, after the tourist suffered a traumatic brain injury following a tragic scooter accident on the island late last month.
Kaitlyn McCaffery was reportedly driving her scooter to her apartment in Bali when she crashed on July 31. Two local passersby later found her injured and unconscious on a remote road before taking her to a hospital in Denpasar, where she is currently in a coma according to a GoFundMe page set up by her family friend, Dena Gustus Cruz, over the weekend.
The incident has left McCaffery with a severe brain injury, along with other serious injuries, they wrote. The family also says that COVID-19 travel restrictions imposed by the Indonesian government have made it impossible for them to be with her, though they are “doing everything they can” to get to Bali.
Foreign arrivals are currently banned in Indonesia due to the coronavirus outbreak with some exemptions, such as officials visiting for diplomatic purposes, and existing holders of the Temporary Stay Permit (KITAS) and the Permanent Stay Permit (KITAP).
Though McCaffery had purchased an international medical insurance, her family said the company is refusing to pay the cost of evacuating her back to California. With the distance and ongoing border closures, it is estimated that the cost to transport her will be around a quarter million dollars, which is the goal of their fundraising.
As of this article’s publication, the family has raised over US$200,000 from around 2,700 donors.
McCaffery grew up in Santa Clara, California and graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in business entrepreneurship. Her Instagram posts, as well as descriptions from her family, depict her as a world traveler. Her most recent photo was uploaded on July 30, and she appears to have been in Indonesia since early June.
The co-founder of her online business Sunfara, whose first name is Ellie, has been providing daily updates on McCaffery’s condition. McCaffery is said to be stable as of this morning, and might soon be taken off the ventilator once doctors deem she is ready.
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