British student paralysed in bison attack could be stranded in US ‘over insurance’

A British student paralysed after being attacked by a bison in a US nature reserve may be stranded due to issues with her health insurance.

Amelia Dean, 19, was on her second day of a month-long road trip in South Dakota as part of her gap year when she was hopsitalised with a severed femoral artery.

Ms Dean, from Brockham, Surrey, and a friend were approaching the end of a hike when they came across the large male bison, which she recalled being some 300 feet away when it suddenly charged at her.

When she was hospitalised, her parents created a GoFundMe page hoping to raise £140,000 so she could be assessed by a nerve specialist from the Mayo Clinic, which her insurance will not cover.

But now the 19-year-old has reportedly been told her health insurance will stop their funding, leaving Ms Dean and her parents with an impossible choice.

“Mia is English and whilst her travel insurance has paid so far for the femoral artery bypass they are refusing to pay for even the initial examination by the specialist of her nerve injury,” parents Mathew and Jacqueline Dean wrote on the GoFundMe page.

“Now the insurance company has given us an ultimatum: to fly Mia home by air ambulance this weekend, after which they will withdraw funding for her case.

“If we choose stay in the US and follow this route we are then potentially left stranded.”

They have so far raised just over £63,000, a little under half of their target and over £30,000 short of the cost of an air ambulance, which will set them back £100,000 to bring Amelia home.

Despite having initially raised the money for world-class treatment in the US to give the teenager the best shot to regain control of her foot, they said they have “little choice but to cancel Mia’s appointments at the Mayo Clinic”.

“It’s gutting, but we have to do what is best for Mia’s recovery with so little hard information available,” they said.

Ms Dean has been receiving care from Rapid City in hospital since her attack.

Recalling the incident, she told local broadcaster KOTA-TV: “I remember feeling the pressure on my hip. My hip being pushed back and I remember the sensation of flying in the air and going head over heels.

“The bison stuck around and his hoofs were right over my head ... It’s a miracle I even lived until the ambulance got there, let alone kept my life and my leg.

“It’s a surreal enough experience let alone the fact that we weren’t doing anything that really warranted it. We were just having a walk in the park.”