“I literally tore my butt open.”
An Australian snowboarder got a tough lesson about reading the fine print when his travel insurance would not cover a $60,000 medical bill from a snowboarding injury suffered in Canada that left Ross Pointer’s butt cheek impaled on a stump.
Ross Pointer and his girlfriend were in Whitewater Ski Resort near Nelson, B.C. in late January when he fell on his favorite run according to the CBC. The impact made him question if he had broken his tailbone but when he looked back he saw a stump sticking out of the ground covered in his blood and pieces of flesh.
After ski patrol showed up on the scene, he was taken to the hospital where a surgeon removed pieces of wood from his right buttock and discovered just how close he was to penetrating his colon, a mere 3mm.
He had a lucky break not stump busting his colon but wasn’t so lucky when he found out he had not opted for the type of travel insurance that would have covered his monster $60,000 medical bill. The provider, Travel Insuranz, clearly had an option for snow sports coverage but the couple mistakenly opted out.
Now saddled with a massive medical bill the couple started a crowdfunding campaign with the tag line “Project Dead Stump — Rebuilding Ross’ Buns!!!” on the Australian crowdfunding website Ozcrowd.com. Hopefully Australians’ cheeky sense of humor and generosity will be enough to pay for poor Ross’s surgery. 
