A Louisiana woman’s first cruise ended in a medical emergency after a shore excursion accident left her badly injured. She had to be flown back to the U.S. for emergency treatment and multiple surgeries.
Kirsten Lindsey, from Shreveport, Louisiana, was injured on the third day of a Carnival cruise during a rope swing excursion in Honduras, according to KTAL.
Her boyfriend, Blake Ford, told KTAL that the rope swing’s retrieval line appeared to be connected incorrectly. As Lindsey swung over the water, the line suddenly tightened between her legs before she dropped. Ford described it as a catastrophic saddle injury.
At first, Lindsey thought she had only scratched herself and walked back to the group’s transportation, according to a GoFundMe page Ford created to help with expenses.
Within hours, the swelling grew to about the size of a baseball, and the pain became so severe that she needed a wheelchair to return to the couple’s cabin, Ford wrote. He called 911 from the ship, and Lindsey was treated for hours at the ship’s medical center.
The couple then had to choose between an air evacuation to the U.S., staying at a hospital in Cozumel, Mexico, or remaining in the ship’s medical facility for the rest of the cruise.
They chose the air evacuation. According to the outlet, they had to pay a $20,000 deposit, followed by another $30,000 after arriving in the U.S.
KTAL reported that Lindsey was taken by ambulance through severe weather to an airport, where a private medical jet flew her to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
She had her first surgery at HCA Florida Aventura Hospital before returning home for more treatment at CHRISTUS Highland Medical Center in Shreveport. Per the report, she is now recovering and undergoing a second surgery.
Internet Reacts to Louisiana Woman’s Honduras Injury
The story has drawn a wave of sympathy and caution online. “This looks so painful just watching it. Please think carefully before doing these high-risk activities on vacation. It can completely ruin your vacation in an instant,” one commenter wrote. Another pointed to a separate viral incident, writing, “The whole world watched three men in Brazil yeet a woman off a bridge last month & y’all are still participating in these shenanigans?”
A third offered well wishes: “Omg that sounds horrifying hope she recovers okay. Cruise excursions are no joke fr.” Others focused on the injury’s severity, with one writing, “‘Catastrophic genital injury’ are three words you never want to hear,” while another added, “Another lesson in the ‘Avoid Carnival Cruises at all costs’ curriculum.”
This incident involving a Louisiana woman is the latest in a series of cruise and shore excursion injuries that have gone viral. Other recent cases include lawsuits over a collapsed massage table and a waterslide accident on separate Carnival cruises, raising more questions about excursion safety standards.
