Child suffering medical emergency airlifted off cruise ship by Space Coast rescuers
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - A child is recovering after suffering a medical emergency on a cruise ship and being airlifted in the open ocean by Brevard County-based rescuers.
It happened on May 4 on a Carnival cruise ship nearly 350 miles off the East Coast. The child and his mother were both hoisted to safety in the open ocean before they were flown to a hospital in North Carolina.
It’s not what anyone expected to see on vacation.
"It was terrifying. I was screaming and crying, and anxious, scared the whole time watching them take him," said Angela Bridges, whose son suffered a medical emergency with a perforated bowel.
Bridges couldn’t believe her eyes when she watched her 12-year-old son get hoisted away on their family vacation.
She’s glad he was because she knew something was wrong when "he couldn’t really get up and move a lot, and he was in pain. He couldn’t keep anything down really," said the mom.
He saw a doctor on board on Friday, and by Saturday, jets and helicopters from the Patrick Space Force-based 920th Rescue Wing were on the scene in the sea to rescue the family.
"Even me going down on a silly water slide, my heart was pounding. I can’t imagine being airlifted out on a stretcher," said Marla White, who was a passenger on the cruise ship.
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White watched in awe and recorded everything when Aiden and Angela were lifted into the air on a stretcher at sea.
"I even had tears in my eyes because I’m a mom, too," said White.
Doctors say Aiden punctured his bowel, and he’s still at a hospital in North Carolina with his mom.
"I had a doctor tell me today, just this morning tell me that this is such a rare occurrence to see a 12-year-old with no history, no medical reason, no anything that shows why there would be a perforated bowel," said his mom.
FOX 35’s Esther Bower asked the mom how she felt now, knowing he was in safe care, recovering, and still alive.
"I’m definitely very grateful because one small thing could have been the difference between getting him off the ship or not and him surviving and not," she said.
The rescue mission took eight hours from beginning to end, and crews flew more than 1,200 hundred miles to transport the child to safety, with cruise passengers cheering as the family left the ship.
The Bridges family didn’t know how long they’d have to stay at the hospital, but they’re thankful everyone came together to make sure her son didn’t lose his life on their vacation.
"We were very lucky," concluded Bridges.
To help with expenses and recovery costs, the family started a GoFundMe for their son’s journey.