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dairyairy
Joined: 17 May 2012
Location: South Korea
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 Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 11:46 pm Post subject: Remains of English teacher have arrived in California |
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The story, with a video at the link
http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2014/01/20/family-says-korean-hospital-wont-release-sacramento-womans-remains/
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SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The family of a Sacramento woman who died thousands of miles away from home says her remains are being held hostage at the Korean hospital where she was being treated.
Andrea Godina died on Saturday in Seoul, South Korea, where she was working as an English teacher.
Leticia Sisneros is slowly coming to terms with her sister’s death.
“She is gone, and I don’t think it’s even a reality, because we’re used to her being afar,” she said.
She says Godina was being treated with a lung infection that turned into pneumonia.
“Then she got the flu, and we were no longer able to speak to her,” Sisneros said. “She had a loss of oxygen, and then her organs started failing, and she just couldn’t come out of it.”
As the family tries to cope, it’s not the only challenge they’re facing. They say the hospital in South Korea is now refusing to release the 32-year-old’s remains without full payment.
“Her medical bills are $13,900,” Sisneros said. “That absolutely has to be paid before they allow her to be cremated. We don’t have funds like that just lying around.”
Her family is currently trying to raise money to bring Godina home for a proper burial. Today, they put on a benefit car wash to help bring her home.
They won’t stop until she’s back home with them.
“That’s what made me so angry, to know that she was there all by herself,” Sisneros said. “I know she was afraid.
Because she tested positive for the flu, her family says she’ll need to be cremated before she comes back to the United States. |
After a fundraiser
http://www.gofundme.com/andreagodina
The remains arrived home
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t2Hr-icLBc&gl=US |
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World Traveler
Joined: 29 May 2009
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| Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 1:48 am Post subject: |
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When Sacramento native Andrea Godina called home from Seoul, South Korea, on Friday complaining of cold symptoms, her sisters were not overly concerned. Godina often caught colds and got over them, they said.
Less than 24 hours later, doctors from the Ajou University Hospital in Seoul called Andrea’s mother, Kathy Ruiz, and told her to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. Ruiz booked a flight as soon as she could, but not before Godina was declared dead at 9 p.m. Saturday night.
The UC Davis grad died Saturday of flu and pneumonia. The 32-year-old was teaching English to children in Seoul, South Korea, where she had been living on and off since 2008.
Sad story. |
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knee-highs
Joined: 15 Feb 2007
Location: yes
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| Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 3:34 am Post subject: |
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| World Traveler wrote: |
When Sacramento native Andrea Godina called home from Seoul, South Korea, on Friday complaining of cold symptoms, her sisters were not overly concerned. Godina often caught colds and got over them, they said.
Less than 24 hours later, doctors from the Ajou University Hospital in Seoul called Andrea’s mother, Kathy Ruiz, and told her to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. Ruiz booked a flight as soon as she could, but not before Godina was declared dead at 9 p.m. Saturday night.
The UC Davis grad died Saturday of flu and pneumonia. The 32-year-old was teaching English to children in Seoul, South Korea, where she had been living on and off since 2008.
Sad story. |
+1 |
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optik404
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 3:38 am Post subject: |
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| At least they go to bring her home. |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 4:01 am Post subject: |
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| Wow, in such a short time period. So sad and shocking for the family. |
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Stan Rogers
Joined: 20 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 5:07 am Post subject: |
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| The hospital refusing to release her body to the family until they paid $13,900 is barbaric. |
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AsiaESLbound
Joined: 07 Jan 2010
Location: Truck Stop Missouri
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| Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 11:15 am Post subject: |
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| Glad they got the situation sorted out, but almost unheard of for a young person unless it's bird flu or something. I too came down with flu last Wednesday and been sick over the holiday, but feeling much better now. I had an horrendous headache, body aches, weakness, slowness, zapped of all energy, sore throat, some sinus, and a minor dry cough until Saturday. I knew last Wednesday it was bad flu going around with how terrible I felt so I went to a doctor and got a script for 5 days of Tamiflu and little packets full of pills. |
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CentralCali
Joined: 17 May 2007
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Died By Bear
Joined: 13 Jul 2010
Location: On the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
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| Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 2:40 pm Post subject: |
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| The hospital refusing to release her body to the family until they paid $13,900 is barbaric. |
The parents of the kids at her school that gave her the flu should have paid the bill. |
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Mountain Mama
Joined: 20 Feb 2010
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 5:12 pm Post subject: |
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What would actually happen if no one would have paid the hospital? I mean, there must be some kind of policy. They wouldn't want to hold onto the body forever. The same situation must happen sometimes with Koreans whose relatives don't want to or can't pay.
I hope it wouldn't happen to me, or anyone, but it would be good to know what the policy is. Personally, I wouldn't want my relatives to pay anything near that much if it became an issue. I've even told them that if I ever did die abroad, that it would be just as fine for them to have my body buried abroad or cremated and put in a mausoleum abroad. The thought of my death being a burden on them would be more against my last wishes than to have my body buried abroad - which I have nothing against at all. |
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jvalmer
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 5:14 pm Post subject: |
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| I guess Korean medical insurance don't cover repatriating a body for a foreigner on a working visa... Good to know. |
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EZE
Joined: 05 May 2012
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| Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 5:47 pm Post subject: |
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| jvalmer wrote: |
| I guess Korean medical insurance don't cover repatriating a body for a foreigner on a working visa... Good to know. |
I doubt she had health insurance since the bill was $13,900.
In December, the doctors thought I had either TB or pneumonia (it was pneumonia) and I had three chest x-rays, three sputum tests, and a CT scan. My total costs were less than $500 since I have health insurance. Even when I was hospitalized for three days for an appendectomy last year, national health insurance covered 100% of the stay in the general ward.
Make sure you have health insurance, folks. |
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young_clinton
Joined: 09 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 8:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Stan Rogers wrote: |
| The hospital refusing to release her body to the family until they paid $13,900 is barbaric. |
There are some problems with Korea. In Europe medicine is largely socialized and available to everyone. In the US every hospital must provide adequate treatment (even private hospitals) if a person is in danger of dying, being permanently maimed, in serious pain etc.. I don't know does Korea have anything like that? I'm surprised that a country as advanced as Korea would be that fickle about something like this. After all it needs teachers here to teach English. So some of the teachers are going to get very sick and possibly die while doing their jobs. This is very very fickle for a country this advanced. This should be taken up at the State Department level. In essence well we can be fickle too, if you want to play that way.
Last edited by young_clinton on Mon Feb 03, 2014 8:00 am; edited 1 time in total |
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goreality
Joined: 09 Jul 2009
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| Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 8:30 pm Post subject: |
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| 6 years of working here surely severance and pension would have covered that. |
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Smithington
Joined: 14 Dec 2011
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| Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 8:40 pm Post subject: |
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| Died By Bear wrote: |
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| The hospital refusing to release her body to the family until they paid $13,900 is barbaric. |
The parents of the kids at her school that gave her the flu should have paid the bill. |
Yeah, the whole 'sneeze and cough over everyone and everything when your sick" aspect of Korean culture is just ridiculous. Who knows, that poor lady might still be with us if Koreans had a better understanding of germ theory and adjusted their behavior accordingly.
On another note, I'm sure most of us would have contributed something to help get her body repatriated to her family.
Sad story. |
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