When a harrowing honeymoon experience resulted in an emergency surgery for her new husband, Rebecca Fischer morphed into the ultimate travel hero, identifying resources to help save his life, all while the two were halfway around the world. Thanks to her heroics, Fischer, of Dallas, Tex., has been awarded a $10,000 “Hero’s Vacation” in Travel Guard North America’s World's Unluckiest Traveler 2: The Rescue contest.

            Fischer, a frequent business traveler, and her husband, Bruce Hill, a thrill-seeking firefighter, had originally planned a vacation to Fiji and New Zealand to scuba dive and explore. But when Hill proposed several weeks prior to departure, it became an impromptu destination wedding and honeymoon. The trip was even more amazing than expected, but days before they were scheduled to return to Texas, Hill began feeling ill. Not wanting to ruin Fischer’s dream destination wedding and honeymoon, Hill powered his way through the rest of the trip. Just after the couple boarded their plane back to the states, Hill’s pain worsened and they begged the flight attendant to let them deplane. Airline representatives directed them to a local clinic for treatment. After a tumultuous, overpriced cab ride, they arrived to find the clinic closed.

            As Hill’s condition worsened, he stumbled into a local barbershop while Fischer phoned for help. A kind local in the middle of a haircut generously offered a ride to the nearest clinic, where Hill was told his appendix had burst and was rushed into emergency surgery at yet another hospital. Just two days after the surgery, they were required to leave before Hill fully recovered, sending Fischer into a frenzy over her new husband’s health.

Fischer made arrangements at an extended-stay hotel where the two holed up while Fischer’s organizational and care-giving skills were put to the test. She nursed her husband back to health while simultaneously making numerous international phone calls, sending emails and arranging to get her husband medical clearance to fly home. After finally receiving approval to fly, an exhausted Fischer arranged new flights and brought Hill home safe and sound.

“Ms. Fischer is the ultimate do-gooder and certainly worthy of the $10,000 ‘Hero’s Vacation’ for keeping her cool in such a dire situation,” said Carol Mueller, vice president, Travel Guard North America. For more information, visit www.travelguard.com/unlucky.