Sick Caledonia boy flies home from Cuba

A seven-year-old Caledonia boy who fell ill in Cuba and had initially been stopped from flying because of his health has returned to Canada.

Nicole Antinello said she and her son, Cole, flew home overnight Friday and he’s now at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, where he’s being treated for dehydration and awaiting other test results.

“We both need a break. I don’t even have clean clothes right now,” Antinello said. “It’s been a long journey, but we are in the best care now.”

After a weeklong vacation, Antinello said her son became sick July 21, coming down with a fever and nausea at the airport.

He was deemed too sick to fly and was rushed by ambulance to a hospital in Holguin.

There was no diagnosis for the first day, but then one doctor said Cole needed emergency surgery to remove his appendix, Antinello said. She wasn’t convinced her son had appendicitis, but was advised by Canadian health professionals working for her travel medical insurance to listen to the Cuban doctors.

She also complained about conditions in the hospital, where Cole remained for five days following the surgery.

Once out of hospital, they had to wait for doctors to clear Cole to fly and for travel insurance to pay the hospital.

There had been concern he would again be found too sick to fly, but the pair made their flight late Friday, landing early Saturday morning.

A GoFundMe campaign to cover expenses has raised nearly $3,000.