A British tourist who had a steamy sex romp in a remote US desert was left with a $250,000 (£165,000) medical bill – after the excitement gave him a heart attack.
Romantic Peter Cousins, 55, was travelling the world with his partner Dawn Reed when they stopped to work on a cowboy ranch in the middle of the Nevada desert.
The raunchy pair discovered a beautiful natural hot spring while out for a walk so stripped off and jumped in for a bit of nookie.
But moments after their tryst, Peter collapsed and suffered a heart attack – 60 miles away from phone signal – forcing Dawn to run three miles to flag down a trucker.
Poorly Peter was airlifted to hospital and had a life-saving stent placed in his heart, but after a five-day stay was presented with a staggering £165,000 medical bill.
If that wasn’t bad enough, he had to return home and broke up with Dawn, who had to stay and work in the US.
But Peter, from Sturminster Newton, Dorset, insists his outdoor quickie was worth it, and said: “It was the most expensive sex ever.
“I haven’t been able to pay it off and although it’s always at the back of my mind, I have no regrets.
“Yes, I will never be able to forget that I owe so much money, but it was worth it for the sex. It’s always worth it.”
Artist Peter and his partner of two years Dawn were living in Portugal when they embarked on a round-the-world trip in April 2013.
After months on the road the pair flew to America and started working as chefs on a cowboy ranch in the middle of the Nevada desert.
Recalling their doomed moment of passion, Peter said: “After we started working there, Dawn and I took a walk around and discovered these beautiful natural hot springs all over the place.
“We always used to sit in them and then one day we thought it would be romantic to make love in the pool.
“When I got up there were pains in my left arm and I just collapsed.
“We were miles from the ranch and even then, there was no phone signal to call anyone. I didn’t know if I was going to make it, we were in the middle of nowhere.
“It was astounding how remote it was. There was no internet or cellular signal for miles and the nearest town was more than three hours drive away.”
Dawn had no choice but to leave Peter alone while she ran three miles to flag down a trucker who called the air ambulance on a satellite phone.
Two hours later Peter – who did not have any travel insurance – was airlifted to hospital and had a life-saving stent placed in his heart.
But after a five-day stay in Reno hospital he almost suffered another heart attack when medics hit him with a bill for a quarter of a million dollars – or #165,000.
He said: “When I woke up I was in A and E. Doctors fitted a stent and gave me lots of drugs to keep me alive. I was in there for five days before being discharged.
“As I was leaving the doctors asked me how I planned on paying the bill. I was thinking it would be around $5,000 but couldn’t believe it when it all amounted to $250,000.”
Unable to pay the bill, Peter travelled back to the UK for further treatment while Dawn stayed on the ranch, and the couple split in October 2014, but remain friends.
Peter is still negotiating with the hospital over the bill.
He added: “I’m just really hoping I will be able to get the debt wiped because it will affect my future.
“If the hospital decide I do have to pay back the full amount, I’ll never be able to go to America again. That will hurt.
“Stupidly, I didn’t have travel insurance and although I was expecting a big bill I had to do a double take when I saw it was a quarter of a million dollars.
“I was completely gobsmacked. I wasn’t working at the time as Dawn and I had been travelling the world, so there was no way I could ever afford that.
“It’s bizarre how things have turned out. I would be really upset if this meant I could never enter the country again.”
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