Jessica Farwell, a mother, was left in tears after she found out the massive six-figure hospital bill she had to pay after rushing her six-month-old son to the emergency room.
In a recent tell-all interview with KGO-TV, the Northern California resident revealed that in October 2022, Brody, her son, had an accident where a rice cooker fell off the kitchen counter on him. The then six-month-old was left with severe burn injuries, and he had to be rushed to the ER.
“Seeing your baby in so much pain was just the worst feeling as a mom,” Farwell told the outlet. “The water just made his skin instantly bubbled up. I was just like is his face gonna start bubbling. Is his skin going to start peeling off?” she continued. According to her, the hospital where she took him did not have a burn unit. At the ER, her son was given “fentanyl for the pain because he was screaming.”
Recounting the experience, Jessica narrated that the doctors at the hospital told her that Brody needed to be transferred to Shriners Children’s Hospital. However, it was during the COVID-19 pandemic, so even though they were trying to get an ambulance for Brody, there just wasn’t any available for at least the next seven hours. Farwell, who was obviously very devastated and also panicking, didn’t want to wait and decided to drive her son to the hospital herself.
Mother left with a ~$70,000 bill for a 15-minute trip to the emergency room for her 6-month-old son.
Absolutely insane.
CA woman Jessica Farwell says she was forced by doctors to put her son in a helicopter, which ended up costing $90,000.
The insanity doesn’t end there.… pic.twitter.com/NslvlXzULW
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 12, 2025
However, the hospital resisted. “They said ‘no I’m sorry, you can’t. I can’t let you leave with him. I already called the helicopter and they’re on their way.’ He basically told me there was nothing I could do. I had to go in the helicopter,” Farwell recounted.
From hereon, the whole thing turned into chaos. The mother, who was already breaking down at that point, was forced to take an air ambulance for the 15-minute hospital ride, which cost around $90,000. At that time, she was assured that she didn’t need to pay the massive bill herself, as she also had insurance, because it was the health professionals who requested the helicopter.
Once they reached the hospital, she was again forced to take an ambulance ride to the entrance, which was just 0.3 miles away. She told KGO-TV, “You literally can walk across the street to the hospital quicker than that ambulance could have got us there and they charged me $10,200.”
I don’t understand why everyone is ripping the insurance company. The hospitals are clearly the villain in this story.
First off, what the hell kind of emergency room can’t treat a 2nd degree burn?
Secondly, a $10,000 bill for a *mandatory* 0.3 mile ambulance ride from the… https://t.co/iZ1hc79H3C
— Mel (@Villgecrazylady) August 13, 2025
Although Brody was treated for second-degree burns and got discharged the next day, the actual problems began a few months later, when the hospital bills started arriving. Jessica was facing a massive bill amounting to more than $100,000, alongside a $600 “waiting fee.”
She lamented that her insurance could only cover half of the bill, with $57,000 remaining for the air ambulance ride, along with another $7,000 for the short ambulance trip to the hospital entrance. The mother relentlessly tried to sort it out after repeatedly receiving calls from the collection companies.
However, she noted that all her attempts to contact the hospitals, insurance companies, and ambulance services got her nowhere. Ultimately, it was KGO-TV that helped her get the entire bill waived.
“They called, and said, ‘It’s done, we will never bill you again.’ They almost sounded apologetic. I hung up and told my husband. We just couldn’t believe it! It’s a miracle!” Jessica revealed, thanking the power of the media.
