A Minnesota man is in a coma at a Jamaican hospital; his family is fighting to return him home

By John Lauritsen

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    EDEN PRAIRIE, Minnesota (WCCO) — A Twin Cities family is trying to figure out how to get a loved one home from a Jamaican hospital.

In November, 49-year-old Jeff Anderson of Eden Prairie went into a diabetic coma while on the beach and he’s been hospitalized ever since.

Since then, Jeff’s family has been working to get him back to Minnesota. But as John Lauritsen found out, that’s not as easy as it sounds.

Good whit, good humor, loving, kind, generous: That’s how Gayle Anderson Thomas describes her nephew, Jeff. He’s a carefree guy who suffered a brain injury a few years ago, which she says changed his demeanor.

“Impulse to anger. Short-term memory, non-existent,” Thomas said.

Because of that, her family was worried when Anderson decided to fly by himself to Jamaica. And almost as soon as he arrived, bad news followed.

“He was found with his suitcase lying unresponsive on a beach,” Thomas said. “He had no wallet, no money.”

Anderson had gone into a diabetic coma. He was eventually taken to a hospital in Falmouth, Jamaica where he’s been ever since. He was put on a ventilator and has had little contact with his family.

“His lungs are failing. And that’s why they’ve intubated him and put him on a ventilator,” said Thomas.

“We got to see him twice now during Christmas time. They were kind enough to let us see him in the hospital,” said Debbie Avdek, Anderson’s mom.

Those visits were by cell phone. The distance has been difficult, but getting Jeff home has been the real nightmare.

“The frustration is you just wish it was easy to go and get him and take him here and put him in a hospital. But it’s not that simple,” Greg Anderson, Jeff Anderson’s brother, said.

Because he’s in critical condition, Jeff Anderson can’t travel on his own, and some hospitals in Florida won’t take him due to insurance concerns.

“We were quoted $32,000 to get him to Miami and now it’s up to $67,000 to transport him to Minnesota and that’s our only option,” Thomas said.

They’ve contacted Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s office and the U.S. Embassy in Jamaica, hoping for help. And as spring break approaches, they have a warning for others looking to travel overseas.

“I hope this never happens to another family. It’s frustrating…. to not be able to figure out how to get a loved one home,” Thomas said. “And I don’t want him to die in Jamaica. That’s the frustration. It’s non-stop. I’m not sleeping. Family isn’t sleeping. You are on the phone constantly.”

The family recommends setting up a health care directive and creating emergency contacts before you travel.

Travel experts also advise looking into travel insurance that covers medical evacuations.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for Jeff Anderson to try and raise enough money for an air ambulance.

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