Massachusetts nurse Kiara Diaz stranded in Costa Rica after hiking fall fractures spine, temporarily paralyzes her legs

A Massachusetts ER nurse is stranded in Costa Rica after falling 15 feet on a hike, fracturing her spine and leaving her legs temporarily paralyzed.

Kiara Diaz was on the final day of her vacation with friends on Friday when they decided to take in the views of the tropical Central American nation before flying back to her home in Worcester, WCVB reported.

Diaz, 29, and her two friends chose to trek up to El Miro, a long-abandoned, never-finished mansion overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the city of Jaco.

But during the last-minute adventure, the nurse “stepped backward” without realizing there was a drop-off behind her, Diaz’s brother, Gindember Diaz, told the outlet.

Gindember said the fall broke his sister’s collarbone and spine, temporarily paralyzing her legs and leaving her hospitalized in Costa Rica as she recovers.

“She just wants to get back to the United States. That’s the biggest thing,” he said.

A friend, Samantha Cruz, told NBC Boston that it took emergency crews about two hours to reach Diaz after they called 911.

The two friends with her — both registered nurses — managed to stabilize her while they waited for help.

“They spent two hours on the floor, taking turns stabilizing her spine because they didn’t want her to move at all. They didn’t know the extent of her injuries at that point,” Cruz said.

Diaz’s family is now desperate to fly her home so she can undergo surgery in Boston, but the paperwork and costs are overwhelming because she has neither travel nor health insurance.

“Unfortunately, she canceled it before securing a new one, went to another country and got injured,” her brother told WCVB.

He said his sister dropped her previous insurance after it stopped covering a medication she needed and had been planning to switch to a new policy.

Doctors have since told Diaz she is currently unfit to fly, and she was scheduled to undergo surgery in Costa Rica on Tuesday.

Even after the procedure, doctors expect she will face a long recovery.

Cruz launched a GoFundMe to keep everyone informed and to help cover the costs of bringing her home.

She said Diaz has “received very limited medical care” and had been “lying in the hallway without monitoring” when she first arrived.

Diaz’s mother and brother have since flown to Costa Rica to be with her, but when she’ll be able to return to Massachusetts remains unclear.

“Being seriously injured in another country has made an already overwhelming situation even harder,” Cruz wrote.

“Kiara has spent her career caring for others. As an ER nurse, she has devoted herself to helping people heal and feel safe at their worst. Now she needs that same care and support in return.”