Airlines refused to fly an autistic teen and his mother home, leaving them trapped in the Caribbean for three weeks.
Jamie Greene left her home in Toms River, New Jersey, 50 miles east of Philadelphia, for a holiday in Aruba with her son Elijah Kapatos, 15, who has ‘low-functioning, non-verbal autism,’ her two younger children Brandon and Brice, and her boyfriend Carlos Pacheco.
Last year, the family of five flew to Disney without incident and thoroughly enjoyed their week-long holiday.
On May 17, however, when they landed at Oranjestad Airport in Aruba for their United Airlines flight back to Newark, Elijah became shocked.
The teenager stopped at the doorway and began to scream ‘toilet,’ explained Pacheco – which was his way of saying something was wrong.
‘I gave him gentle nudge and we made it to our seats, then he lost control,’ Pacheco told NJ.com.
He refused to sit, and Jamie and I had to hold him down.
Greene, a mother of three, said it was outrageous that airlines couldn’t accommodate those with invisible disabilities, such as her son.
‘Something caused him to be overwhelmed, and he began to hit his mother and me and continued screaming.’
The captain of the flight instructed them to disembark, and the five of them did so.
Elijah was given his emergency medication, but it was ineffective in calming him down.
‘You think you have all your ducks in a row, Elijah’s flown before, we have sedation medicine on hand just in case and we made it to Aruba without incident,’ Greene explained on Facebook.
‘On the flight home, he became scared and violent and we were asked to leave the plane. What we didn’t know was there is no policy in place for when this kind of situation arises.’
Greene and Pacheco then contacted an emergency medical evacuation company, but they were unable to help.
‘Even the U.S. Consulate in Aruba ran out of ideas, and I had to get our two other children back to school at Toms River, so Brandon, Brice, and I flew back,’ Pacheco said, saying they returned home on May 24.
Greene and the adolescent remained on the island, pleading for assistance on social media.
Julian Maha, an ER physician and the Alabama-based creator of KultureCity, which assists people with nonverbal disorders such as PTSD, strokes, and autism, saw one of their messages.
He contacted his Carnival Cruises contacts, and the business agreed to send one of their ships to pick up Greene and Elijah.
‘It takes a family,’ he said on Facebook.
The pair left Aruba on June 5, bound for Miami.
On arrival in Florida, two KultureCity volunteers drove them home to New Jersey – where they arrived on Monday.
‘It’s hard to describe the last month – it’s heartbreaking, sad and beautiful all wrapped up into one,’ wrote Greene on Facebook.
‘It’s strength, and panic and support.’
Greene told NJ.com that the system needed to change, so no other family was abandoned like they were.
‘Policies have to change. I understand that airlines must follow safety protocols, but something like this should have never happened,’ Greene said.
‘Airlines should treat invisible disabilities the same way they treat visible disabilities.
‘Invisible disabilities include autism, PTSD, traumatic brain injury, anxiety, ADHD, strokes and other mental health challenges.’
She added: ‘We never thought this could happen to us. We now plan to be involved with KultureCity and the autism community.
‘I’m seeing the silver lining, just the chance that a policy might change as a result of our story is enough for me.’