TAMPA, Fla. — From canceled flights to dangerous, wintry conditions, it's been a holiday some families want to put behind.
For one Zephyrhills family, it was a cruise that took a wrong turn while at a stop in Grand Turk.
"It is a very, very beautiful country, and everyone's been great here, but I'm ready to go home," Stephanie Combs said.
Combs said her 13-year-old daughter Hailey needed her appendix removed during their trip.
However, that would later only be one of several challenges they faced during their voyage.
Combs said her family did not have travel insurance, meaning they had to pay out of pocket instead. In addition, their temporary passports provided after the surgery were also about to expire.
The family was at risk of losing all their money and being stuck longer than hoped for.
"If I would have sprung for it, we wouldn't have been in this pickle," Combs said of the insurance.
She said the insurance would have allowed her to fly her daughter to the U.S. to get the procedure done — a trip that costs approximately $23,000 out of pocket, she said.
Combs said her daughter was upset about the medical expenses, but reassured her the family would do everything it took to save her.
"We don't care how much it cost," Combs recounted telling her daughter. 'If I didn't take you to the medical in on Carnival, you could have been dead."
Leading up to the medical emergency, Combs said the family had some colds but tested negative for COVID-19. Eventually, her daughter ended up getting a low-grade fever but felt better after receiving medication.
However, one day, Combs said Hailey vomited. She assumed her daughter had eaten too much ice cream until a staff member called her notifying that her daughter did not look well and needed to be taken to guest services.
When she saw her daughter, Combs said Hailey was pale with clammy skin and her eyes were "raccoon-ish."
Hailey was rushed to the hospital by ambulance where the surgery took place. Combs said it was a "very long" hour and a half of waiting.
A family friend would set up a GoFundMe to aid the family with their finances.
Eventually, the family said they were able to get their temporary passports extended and were able to board a Carnival Freedom ship back to Florida on Saturday.
Combs said the trip was two years in the making after a series of bad events affected their family prompting the need to instill some joy.
"We've had a long two years," Combs said.
While it did not go as planned, Combs said she's thankful she was still able to spend quality time with her family after Hailey's procedure.
In the future, Combs said she will plan to have passports and travel insurance ready on their next vacation.
"The first thing I do when I get back to the states is apply for us to get passports," Combs said.
A spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Line issued the following statement:
"As is customary, our Care Team members and our port agent in Grand Turk provided support and assistance to the Combs family however possible, including coordinating their return to the U.S. on board Carnival Freedom."