What was meant to be a once-in-a-lifetime journey has become a terrifying ordeal for a Massachusetts father now battling for survival on the other side of the world after a suspected insect bite.
Scott and Claire Winslow had long imagined sailing the South Pacific with their family. In April, they finally set out on what an online fundraiser described as their “adventure of a lifetime,” a long-awaited retirement dream come true.
Only weeks into the planned three-month voyage, however, Scott spotted what looked like a routine bug bite. Soon after, his condition began to decline sharply, WBZ-TV reported.
For nearly two weeks at sea with his nephew, his illness continued to worsen. By the time their vessel reached Fiji, Scott was so debilitated he could no longer walk.
The father of three was taken urgently to a local hospital, where physicians realized the infection was far more serious than initially feared.
“By the time they got to a doctor, he was so sick,” Scott’s daughter Lisa Babbin told the outlet.
Scott was later moved from a private medical facility to the Intensive Care Unit at Lautoka Hospital on Viti Levu, Fiji’s main island. There, his wife, Claire, was given the devastating warning to “prepare for the worst.”
The retired Massachusetts father remains in critical condition on a ventilator as he fights septic shock and organ failure.
The infection has spread to Scott’s lungs and gallbladder and his kidneys are functioning at “a fraction of their normal capacity,” the GoFundMe page says.
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It’s still unclear how the infection started — whether by the insect bite, an infected wound or something else, according to the dad’s family.
While doctors are doing everything they can, Scott’s critical condition requires greater care than the local hospital can manage, according to his daughter.
“Every hour counts for my father,” Babbin said.
The family has secured a bed for the critically ill father at the Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Mass., but doesn’t know if they will be able to afford to fly him back to the United States for better care.
“All we need is a medflight, that’s the only thing we need to get him home,” Babbin said. “Medflights are not cheap.”
A special medical flight from Fiji to Boston — which is over 8,000 miles in distance — could set the family back a staggering $250,000, according to the outlet.
In addition to the fundraiser, the Winslow family has applied for a US government loan to help with the astronomical costs of flying Scott home as well as the foreign medical bills that are adding up without medical insurance coverage.
Scott is a “hardworking, loyal, generous” man, “always willing to lend a hand,” relatives wrote on the fundraising page.
“He has spent a lifetime helping others, supporting his family, and being there whenever someone needed him.”
While Scott’s family “remain hopeful and continue to pray” for his recovery, “they are also facing the overwhelming financial burden that comes with a catastrophic medical emergency overseas,” the fundraiser says.
