PHOENIX — A Massachusetts woman said she has racked up $20,000 in medical bills after she was attacked by a bat while on vacation in Arizona.

Erica Kahn told 12News that it happened last year while visiting Arizona with her dad. The two wanted to take photos at Horseshoe Bend. 

“We love to go to national parks and see those beautiful landscapes, and we’re also interested in astrophotography,” Kahn said.

It was at night when Kahn said she noticed some bats flying around and all of a sudden, something strange happened.

“I never would have thought that one would fly into my face, but that happened,” Kahn said. “It was a freak accident.”

One of the bats flew into her face and got trapped between the camera and Kahn’s mouth, she said. Kahn said she started to scream and that’s when part of the bat then entered her mouth.

“I screamed the loudest I’ve ever screamed,” she said. “I’m not sure what part of the bat was there, but there was definitely, I got a taste of it, which was pretty gross. And it tastes a little earthy, a little sweet, if you’re wondering,” 

She said it was only in her mouth for a few seconds before it flew out. While she wasn’t bitten by the bat, her father, who is a doctor, recommended she go to the hospital and undergo vaccinations against rabies.

The problem, Kahn said, was that she did not have health insurance after losing her job about two months before the incident and declining COBRA coverage. Knowing the shots were going to be expensive, Kahn said she did sign up for insurance and was told that the treatment would be covered, but that wasn’t the case.

“I went to four different hospitals over the course of my four rabies shots. And, yeah, so now I have close to $21,000,” she said.

Kahn said the insurance company informed her she did not have immediate coverage and had not met the 30-day waiting period required for the policy.

Kahn said she has negotiated to lower the cost of some of her medical bills. She is also appealing to have the medical costs covered.

“I took a gamble, and I’m really kicking myself down, and I’ve learned I’ll never do that again, but yeah, COBRA is expensive, but it’s more expensive to get these, you know, $20,000 bills when a bat flies into your mouth,” Kahn said.

Since the incident, Kahn said she has a sense of humor about the situation. She also created a GoFundMe account to help pay for her medical bills. You can find it by clicking here.

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