Man stuck in Denmark and left with brain damage after contracting 'super virus' on cruise
A man has been left in critical condition and stuck at a hospital overseas after falling victim to a super virus during a holiday cruise.
Guy Matlock decided to celebrate his 37th wedding anniversary with his wife, Adrian, on a cruise ship that toured northern Europe along with their friends Kim and George, which would also be his first venture outside of the US, aged 64.
The 14-day cruise kicked off on 14 September 2024 but just six days later, Guy felt unwell and had to be hospitalised in Copenhagen, Denmark after the situation escalated and became critical.
This health scare started as Guy began to experience flu-like symptoms, which then developed into a number of other illnesses, according to his daughter Moriah, who explained it all to news outlet KDVR.
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“They pulled into port as soon as possible…They found that he had flu A, pneumonia and sepsis, essentially turned into a super virus within his body and started attacking his major organs,” she added.
The infection would have a huge effect on his body and well-being, as his heart, kidneys and lungs were the first of his organs to fail.
Luckily, his heart is starting to recover from full cardiac arrest and his lungs have started to regain strength as the ventilator is working at 25 percent, while dialysis has been put down to an intermittent need.
He has also been suffering from mini strokes, affecting when he can wake, and how long for.
It has resulted in brain damage for Guy, who is still not totally conscious while receiving treatment, still needing the ventilator to breath.
The Matlock family have started a GoFundMe to raise money for a medical evacuation back home via flight, which Moriah said he is stable enough to do.
His GoFundMe page reads: "The current need is to get Guy and Adrian home. Adrian has spent most of her time in this heartbreaking situation alone and 5,000 miles from their support system.
"Some of their children were able to travel for support, but after a week had to return home to responsibilities."
Daughter Moriah told KDVR: “It’s very isolating in a different country, a country where you don’t know any of the language and there’s so many different societal changes.
“His brain just isn’t getting enough stimulation from the Danish society, because he just hears the different languages and he isn’t able to compute."
In total, they need up to $150,000 (£115,000) to afford all medical costs to make it home, explaining: "The medevac flight home (only travel option due to condition) is over $150,000, the main insurance will cover $4,000 and traveler’s insurance will cover $20,000. Before a flight can be booked this payment is needed up-front."
Moriah further explained to WJTV: “No one can explain the sorrows that it can bring seeing someone so strong in such a not-so-strong state.
“Someone that has been everything that you ever needed in your life and they are incapacitated to not being able to even breathe on their own.”
You can donate to the GoFundMe here.
Topics: Health, Travel, US News, Cruise Ship
Joshua Nair