PROGRESO, Mexico (1010 WINS) – A U.S. couple who says they’ve been held captive in a hospital in Mexico over a $14,000 bill are getting help from filmmaker Tyler Perry.
Stephen Johnson and Tori Austin were taken to the hospital on the Yucatan peninsula after Johnson suffered diabetic shock on a Carnival cruise.
When he got to the hospital, Johnson was “near death,” a hospital administrator told NBC News.
The couple says they were then held captive in the hospital over their bill.
“They locked the windows and so far we just can't leave until this $14,000 dollar bill is paid,” Austin told ABC News.
Perry heard about the couple’s ordeal on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” He then sent a payment to cover the expenses, which according to NBC News, have reached $16,000.
The couple was still in the hospital Saturday as Johnson continued to undergo procedures.
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico says U.S. citizens should be prepared for a “difficult experience” in Mexican hospitals because they “generally require payment upfront for services rendered and will place holds on credit cards if a patient is admitted.”