SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The crew of a Coast Guard rescue boat medevaced a five-year-old boy from the Norwegian Getaway cruise ship Wednesday night, approximately 10 nautical miles off San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Coast Guard Watchstanders received a call at 9:11 p.m. Wednesday from crew aboard the cruise ship reporting the boy, a Canadian citizen, showing symptoms of appendicitis and needing medical attention ashore.
The cruise ship was transiting from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands to Nassau, Bahamas, when the incident was reported to the Coast Guard.
A Boat Station San Juan rescue crew aboard a 45-foot Response Boat Medium was diverted to the scene, where they embarked the boy, his father and younger sibling, and the cruise ship nurse, and transported them to Sector San Juan.
“As a member in the Coast guard, it is always important to be able to adapt to critical events,” Said Master Chief Petty Officer Robert Gonzales, Boat Station San Juan Officer in Charge. “While diverting from a law enforcement patrol to assist a young boy get needed medical attention, our crews performance was exceptional in answering the call.”
The patient, his family members and the cruise ship nurse, were received by awaiting Emergency Medical Services personnel and transported by ambulance to the Ashford Presbyterian Hospital in Condado, Puerto Rico.