Posted on 07/23/2014 5:35:08 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Austin Goncalves, 15, is recovering after going into a coma.
He went into the coma after he got fish poisoning from a snapper in the Bahamas.
Austin is finally eating food for the first time in week. “I’m on anti-seizure medication,” he told WTSP.
Earlier this month, Austin caught a mutton snapper that his mom cooked for dinner.
“I couldn’t eat, couldn’t breath,” Austin told the station. “This was very serious,” his mom, Karen Goncalves added. “It could have ended our lives.” Austin, his friend, Karen, and her boyfriend were all suffering from Ciguatera, which is a potentially fatal illness from eating toxic fish.
The family never heard of this disease but Karen knew something was wrong and called an ambulance. “The kids were not responding,” she said. “They threw up all night and the next day and were pretty much unresponsive.” They were all rushed to a local hospital but Karen wanted to get back to the United States. She thought they could die if they stayed in the Bahamas and asked for help through Facebook.
“And I wanted to thank all of our friends and family who came together to make this possible for us to come home,” she said.
Medical bills have since added up and it cost $10,000 for each to be flown out of the Bahamas.
The Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant & Pub on Longboat Key had a fundraiser to help Austin.
The Blue Marlin Grill will also have a fundraiser.
If you are interested in donating to help Austin, you can contribute via their fundraising website.
My new fact for the day-
Old, large conch can also transmit the condition.
Capt. Anderson's is very popular. The food is good but a little pricey. There is a place next to it where the sight seeing, fishing etc. boats go out which is a little cheaper but not much.
vaudine
“If it’s longer than your arm, it will do you harm.”
The Restaurant if it is still there was Phillip’s Seafood Restaurant. It was located on the South of Highway 90 maybe a mile West of the University entrance on 90.
If it is still there, order the mullet platter. They only have it when the mullet is fresh and it is delicious.
It is in no way comparable to Capt. Andersons but if all you want is good mullet at a good price it is just fine. In fact it is better than fine, it is a delicious meal at a low price.
Mutton honey.
We have made quite a few trips to Cozumel to fish. Ate a lot of them, never knew about this problem.
Thanks for the information.
Ah, so! We just had sushi last night, and so far, so good..........
Anything with ‘mutton’ in it sounds dicey.
Paly toxin is no joke. A number of fellow reef keepers lost pets to this stuff. Certain types of coral like palythoa use this toxin as a defense. When fragging corals like palythoa, a lot of care needs to be taken. A friends dog got into the frag bucket and was dead in hours. I’ve even heard of people getting exposed by not knowing or not taking precautions. Who would know such amazing and beautiful corals like zoanthids and palythoa could be so deadly.
I would NEVER eat an 800-pound snapper and fortunately, I have never caught one that big....but I keep trying.
Capt. Anderson's is here in Panama City
The founder, the lats Max Anderson was a good friend.
The restaurant is currently owned by the Patronis brothers and is located right at the Grand Lagoon/Treausre Island Marina where you can see the fresh seafood coming in.
It is a highly rated restaurabt and has earned many awards.
Don’t eat the fish toe mein
Some of the prettiest stuff in nature is the most deadly...
Darwin award candidate.
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