Poisoned Fish Leaves Family Reeling

All Austin Goncalves wanted to do was fish.

That’s why his mother, Karen, planned a dream vacation for him, his friend Marlin Ellis and her boyfriend in the Bahamas in late June. That trip, however, turned tragic when unbeknownst to them the fish the boys caught was contaminated with Ciguatera toxin. While harmless to fish, the tasteless, colorless and odorless poison can cause pain, nausea, cardiac and neurological symptoms in people.

By July 3, the entire party was rushed to a hospital in Nassau. With severe symptoms, the four were eventually airlifted to Miami for treatment. The flights cost $10,000 per person.

“Austin's case of Ciguatera was extreme,” family friends wrote on a website created to raise money to offset Austin’s medical expenses. “He suffered the worst of the Ciguatera Poisoning symptoms.  He spent a week on life support in the ICU at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami (4 hours from his home).”

While Austin is now home, family friend Joy Murphy says the ordeal is far from over.

“Austin was released from the hospital and is currently under outpatient supervision of a local neurologist and is being treated with physical and occupational therapy for lingering symptoms related to coordination and strengthening,” Murphy wrote in an email. “He is also being treated for seizures.”

Murphy has started an online fundraiser for the teen on YouCaring.com. The goal is to reach $30,000 to help pay for some of his care. So far, nearly $6,000 has been raised.

Ciguatera poisoning’s symptoms can be treated, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control says there is no known cure. The symptoms generally subside within a few days or weeks, but can last for years.

To help out with the fundraiser, just visit Austin Goncalves’ page on YouCaring.com.