In early November, Niverville resident Neil Nickel fell ill while visiting family in Bolivia. Since that time, the family has been faced with tens of thousands of dollars of medical bills.

After visiting a hospital with flu-like symptoms, it was revealed that Nickel had a ruptured intestine, a result of scar tissue from an earlier gall bladder surgery more than 30 years ago. Afterward he suffered two strokes.

While the family has dipped into savings to cover the cost of hospital care in Bolivia, they have set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money to cover the costs of the air ambulance, which is $86,800. At the 
time of this writing, more than $20,000 has been 
raised.

Nickel did not have travel health insurance, since he has been denied coverage for past health issues. He has since been able to return home, to be with his family for the holidays.