The family of an 8-year-old boy who was airlifted from a cruise ship due to a medical emergency was able to resume their family vacation when their ship docked in Los Angeles.
Daniel Jiang was rescued from the Royal Princess last Tuesday about 20 miles off the coast of Northern California near Eureka.
Daniel was on a two-week trip from Vancouver to Hawaii with his mother and brother when he began to feel sick, according to a report in Good Morning America.
As the boy’s condition worsened, it was eventually discovered he was suffering from appendicitis which would require emergency surgery.
Far from their next stop and with foggy conditions proving to be challenging for the crew of the Royal Princess, the U.S. Coast Guard was called to the scene to airlift Daniel and his family to a hospital so he could undergo emergency appendix surgery.
The entire rescue was caught on video and shared by the Coast Guard online.
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Daniel Jiang, 8, is rescued from the Royal Princess and loaded into a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter to be taken to a hospital for appendicitis surgery on Sept. 24, 2024. (U.S. Coast Guard) -
U.S. Coast Guard rescuers medevac the family of a child experiencing a medical emergency on Sept. 24, 2024. (U.S. Coast Guard)
Daniel’s surgery was a success and on Saturday, after he was given the medical “all-clear,” he and his brother and mother were able to continue their cruise to Hawaii by re-boarding the Royal Princess in Los Angeles.
Coincidentally, the resumption of their cruise also coincided with Daniel’s birthday.
A spokesperson for Princess Cruises says the Jiang family was “greeted with an outpouring of excitement and warm wishes from the crew” when they stepped back onto their cruise ship.
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Daniel Jiang poses alongside his mother, brother and crewmembers of the Royal Princess after rejoining their cruise on Sept. 26, 2024. (Princess Cruises) -
A crewmember of the Royal Princess hands flowers to the mother of Daniel Jiang, who was rescued from the cruise ship for emergency surgery. The family returned to their cruise in Los Angeles on Sept. 28, 2024. (Princess Cruises)
Video shared by Princess shows the crew of the ship greeting Daniel and his family, providing them with gifts and serenading him with a birthday song.
Daniel and his family are currently en route to Honolulu aboard the Royal Princess. They are scheduled to arrive Friday, according to CruiseMapper.com.