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And those costs, while cheap compared to those incurred in other countries, are nevertheless high: So far, the family estimates the bill sits at around US$25,000.

Had Boychuk returned to Canada, where he is a citizen, in January, the sum of it would have likely been covered by insurance. The family’s choice to keep him in Cuba, however, has left them paying out of pocket. It was a decision his sister Tuutalik said was reached following a long conversation with her father, Dan Boychuk.

On the morning of the accident, Boychuk was brought to an emergency clinic in Varadero before being transferred to Faustino Perez hospital in Matanzas, the biggest and closest regional hospital. Faustino Perez was dilapidated, “one crumbling room after another crumbling room,” Tuutalik said. Luckily, it wasn’t long before he was transferred again – this time to Cira Garcia hospital in Havana.

Within 72 hours, things looked like they could change again.

When Dan and Tuutalik arrived at the hospital, Boychuk had been sedated, his eyes taped shut. He had just undergone surgery on his fifth and six vertebrae and was in no condition to speak for himself. However, the insurance company, doctors and emergency medical flight team all agreed: it was time to fly Boychuk home to Toronto, where he could be treated by Canadian doctors.

At first, the family was too in shock to say anything.

“We’re still walking around like zombies, because this is the most tragic thing to have happened to us,” Tuutalik said.