The vacation photos tell the story.

You see 17-year-old Mary McClure and her mother, Dawn board a ferry to Nassau... then you see Mary with a broken leg.

Mary says, "I remember just screaming... somebody, hold my leg, hold my leg! And as I was laying there, you could just see it triple in size."

A scooter accident turned their dream vacation into a nightmare.

Dawn was frantic. She didn't have her cell phone nor a computer with her and didn't realize her U.S. medical insurance meant nothing to doctors or hospital staff in the Bahamas.

Dawn explains, "i walked in the door. They took her into the E.R. and I had to immediately pay $1,500."

Then Dawn was told before they could open up an operating room, she'd have to cough up another $8,000. Then the surgeon wanted his fee, another $4,000.

Dawn says, "It becomes such a nightmare. You go into this mode of... you're going to do anything to save your child."

Dawn also had to find a way to get her daughter home.
Mary was too ill to fly commercially so she was lucky. A stranger volunteered the use of his private jet.

Both mother and daughter now know the dramatic difference between health care in the U.S. and a third world country... and the importance of medical trip insurance.

If Mary had purchased such a policy just for that trip ... everything would've been taken care of...not just the medical expenses, but a special plane ride home.

The cost: $26.

Mary says she's learned. She'll never travel outside the U.S. again without it. And that's good advice for all of us.

The family's now hoping their insurance company will reimburse them for all they've paid in cash. We'll stay on top of it and let you know how it works out.