Australian tourist’s urgent warning after ending up in wheelchair in Bali

A glamorous tourist has warned Australians to get travel insurance before travelling to Bali after she was hospitalised and racked up thousands of dollars in medical bills.

Kelsey Foster, 28, was enjoying the trip of a lifetime when she tore a ligament in her ankle after slipping on a tile in Bali’s notorious Legion Street shopping district.

‘I slipped on the tile and my ankle snapped underneath me, she explained. ‘I then got a 12 hour sitting tattoo on my leg thinking it was just a sprain. Now I am off my foot for months.

‘I am struggling to stay awake. I’ve never felt pain like this,’ she said. ‘The worst part about this pain is being told I can’t take pain killers because it’ll mask the potential outcome I could have blood clots. Sitting in excruciating pain is debilitating.’

Luckily, Ms Foster had purchased travel insurance at the last minute before her trip.

‘I got emergency flown home business class back to Australia the tickets alone for it were over $4000 + over $1000 in meds and scans for me in Indonesia,’ she explained.

‘The [insurance company] were on top of it and so helpful. They called me multiple times a day to check I was okay and everything was in place. They organised wheelchair assistance, all our tickets and airport needs and medical expenses.’

On Tuesday, after returning to Australia and visiting a hospital in New South Wales, Foster revealed the full extent of her injuries.

‘Torn a ligament off the ankle, fracture up the outer side of the foot,’ she said.

‘Ultrasound tomorrow to check for DVT (deep vein thrombosis) to make sure I can stay out of hospital. I am struggling to stay awake. I’ve never felt pain like this.

‘I think the last seven days with everything that’s happened has just emotionally, mentally and physically drained me.’

‘I spent about 20 minutes hysterically crying,’ she said.

Just last week, Ms Foster was targeted by online trolls after she donated food to a children’s orphanage in Bali.

Foster took time out of her holiday to drop off essentials including rice, noodles and cooking oil as well as lollies and soft toys. 

Australian tourist Kelsey Foster (right) slammed people who accused her of using a Balinese orphanage as a ‘photo op’ of being ‘extremely childish’

Mrs Foster (centre) shared photos of her time at a Balinese orphanage on Sunday but was criticised for wearing an ‘inappropriate’ outfit

However, harsh critics focused more on Ms Foster’s revealing outfit than her good deeds and accused her of using the disadvantaged children as a ‘photo op’. 

But Ms Foster responded to the haters, saying she would never have faced such criticism if she was a ‘middle-aged’ woman.

‘People were saying I was disrespectful for not covering my skin up and that I did it for social media, just some really rude people saying I didn’t actually mean it or do it for the children,’ she told Yahoo! News.

‘I guarantee if I was a man or middle-aged woman, no fuss would be made. It’s because I am a woman and have breasts that are large and not easy to hide.’

‘The driver and myself checked it was okay to go inside wearing swimmers and they said yes and invited us in.

‘The children didn’t care what I was wearing. They had the biggest smiles to see all the food and things I took them.’

The young woman, who boasts more than 7,000 followers on Facebook now wants to use her social media following to help people.

‘It is not a bad thing to remind people ways to help others,’ she said.

‘If I took donations and did not post to social media to share with friends I would have been labelled a scammer or something, so either way you win some and lose some.’

Ms Foster explained she was wearing a swimsuit to battle the 33C heat and humidity, but cruel commenters believed there was no excuse to be dressed ‘inappropriately’. 

Mrs Foster handed out lollies and soft toys to the children at the orphanage and donated essentials like cooking oil and rice (pictured, Mrs Foster with one of the children)

Mrs Foster said any notion of her using the Balinese orphanage as a photo opportunity was ‘extremely childish’ (pictured, Mrs Foster at the orphanage)

‘Next time it would probably be much more respectful to keep your puppies inside your clothes,’ one person wrote.

‘It’s not something children need to experience at a young age.’

Another social media user accused Ms Foster of failing to properly research the orphanage and check it wasn’t a facility that takes advantage of children.

‘I’m not hating anyone. I’m just saying tourists to Bali should be more responsible as to how they help children,’ they wrote.

‘Charities need to be transparent and responsible about how they operate.

‘I understand the poster meant well, but this is not a good example of how we can support children in need.’

However, other commenters were quick to jump to Mrs Foster’s defence.

‘That’s such a beautiful thing,’ one wrote. ‘Doesn’t matter what you wear. That’s not what the post is about peeps. God bless you.’

Mrs Foster added she bought the donated items from a local family-owned store and received money from her Australian friends to pass on to the orphanage (above)