Yahoo Lifestyle 8-Year-Old Boy Airlifted Off Cruise Ship Returns for Heartwarming Reunion with Crew on His Birthday: WATCH
The young boy has been "cleared" to rejoin the cruise after undergoing an appendix surgery
An 8-year-old boy was in for a sweet reunion on his birthday!
On Saturday, Sept. 28, Daniel Jiang reunited with the crew of the Princess Cruise ship that he was airlifted off after experiencing a medical emergency four days earlier.
According to a spokesperson for Princess Cruise Line, the young boy has been "cleared to rejoin his family and continue their cruise to Hawaii" after undergoing an appendix surgery.
United States Coast Guard
The family re-boarded the ship in Los Angeles on Daniel’s birthday, where they were met with a "warm and enthusiastic welcome" from the crew.
In a video shared with PEOPLE, the boy is shown walking onto the ship with two family members as he holds a tan dinosaur stuffed animal.
As he made his way onto the vessel, a member of the crew cheered him along. Daniel then went through security where he was greeted by more crew members, who gifted him flowers and sang him "Happy birthday!" to celebrate the special occasion.
Last week, the U.S. Coast Guard was employed to assist Daniel during his medical emergency.
Courtesy Princess Cruises
Daniel and his family reunited with crew members on the 'Royal Princess'The ship was about 20 miles west of Eureka, Calif. when Coast Guard Sector Humboldt Bay watchstanders were notified of the emergency at around 7 a.m. local time, according to a press release from the U.S. Coast Guard.
The rescuers were informed that "an 8-year-old male passenger onboard was diagnosed with appendicitis and needed to be medevaced," per the release.
The rescue was made via helicopter roughly an hour later.
Courtesy Princess Cruises
Video footage of the rescue mission shows an aircrew member helping Daniel into a large metal rescue basket prior to him being lifted into the helicopter. The clip then shows what appears to be two more of his family members being brought up.
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Daniel’s mother Nicole Jiang later opened up about the harrowing experience during a conversation with Good Morning America on Thursday, Sept. 26.
"The doctor in the cruise said the situation is very [much an] emergency ... Daniel got [a] very high fever and the situation [grew] worse and worse," she told the outlet.
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