A 15-year-old boy with autism and his mother stayed in the Caribbean for three weeks after the plane melted down.
Mother Jamie Green travels from Toms River to New Jersey, USA, on vacation with her son Eliya Kapatos, her two youngest children, Brandon, 7, and Bryce, 12, and her boyfriend Carlos Pacheco. in Aruba
The family of five arrived without incident and enjoyed the trip.
However, after arriving at the Oranjestad airport in Aruba, Elijah melted down to return to Newark on May 17.
Carlos told NJ.com how Elijah, who has “low-functioning nonverbal autism,” was stopped at the gate when he boarded a United Airlines plane.
He started yelling “bathroom”. That’s their way of saying something is wrong.
“I pushed him gently, we got there and he lost control,” Carlos added.
He refused to sit down and Jamie and I had to hold on.
“Something put pressure on him, he hit me and my mother and kept screaming.
The pilot told his family that he had to get off the plane, so five relatives left the plane.
Elijah received emergency medical care, but was still restless.
Jaime wrote on Facebook:
On the way home, he became frightened and violent and was asked to leave the plane.
“What we didn’t know was that there was no policy when such a situation occurred.”
The family contacted the emergency medical evacuation company, but received no help.
Finally, Carlos was forced to go home with the couple’s two children on May 24, as they had to go to school.
However, Jamie and Elijah stayed behind in the Caribbean and posted a desperate plea for help on social media.
Medicare was eventually contacted by Julian Maha, who runs Kulture City, a charity that helps people with invisible and non-verbal disabilities.
He contacted Carnival Cruise and the company agreed to divert one of the ships to let Elijah and Jamie go.
“The family needs him,” Julian wrote on Facebook.
The couple left for Aruba in Miami on June 5, and when two volunteers from KultureCity arrived, they were flown back to New Jersey. They arrived home on Monday.
“It’s hard to explain last month. It’s sad, sad and beautiful, it’s all rolled into one,” Green wrote on Facebook. It is power, panic and support. “
He told NJ.com that he needed to change his policy so that no one else would be left behind.
“We need to change our policy,” added James. I understand that airlines must follow security protocols, but this should never happen.
“Airlines must treat not only people with invisible disabilities, but also people with visible disabilities.
Invisible disorders include autism, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, anxiety, ADHD, stroke, and other mental health issues.
“We didn’t think it could happen to us. We are currently planning to join the KultureCityandAutism community.
“I see a silver line. It is enough that politics can change as a result of our history.”
United Airlines has a policy for people with disabilities that covers things like wheelchair access and pet services, but not autism. I asked the company for a comment.
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Source: Metro
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