Van Tuijls Start Journey Home
from
The ARRL Letter / ARRL
on
July 4, 2000
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http://www.arrl.org
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VAN TUIJL FAMILY STARTS JOURNEY HOME
The van Tuijl family: Jannie,
Willem, and Jacco. [ARRL photo] |
The van Tuijl family has left Dallas, Texas, on its way back to the
Netherlands. Their departure this week came just a month after 13-year-old
Willem van Tuijl--wounded by gunfire during an attack by pirates off the coast
of Honduras last March--was released from a Dallas hospital. Doctors cleared him
for travel last Friday.
Willem, the son of Jacco and Jannie van Tuijl, KH2TD and KH2TE, was seriously
injured in late March after he was shot by pirates that attacked the family
while they were sailing off the coast of Honduras. He was left paralyzed from
the waist down as a result of his injuries. After the pirate attack, the family
was aided by Amateur Radio operators who called the Coast Guard and provided
medical advice during the family's trip to shore with the gravely injured
youngster. Other hams later provided communication assistance and other help.
ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, was instrumental in getting the boy and his
family from Honduras to the US for medical attention.
The first stop on the van Tuijls' journey home will be in Miami. The family
will spend approximately a week there so that Willem can be evaluated by the
Miami Project, a research program specializing in spinal cord injuries.
In May, Jacco van Tuijl piloted the family's sailing vessel, Hayat,
from Honduras to South Florida. The boat will remain docked there through the
generosity of friends. During their Miami stopover, the family plans to visit
the boat, which had been their home for the past seven years.The family also
will visit Miami-area amateurs who assisted in the rescue.
The family plans to return to the US within one year, possibly on a permanent
basis, so that Willem can complete his education here. Willem had attended sixth
grade in Alaska and speaks English fluently.
The family's pet cat, Ketchikat, will remain in Dallas at the home of Bob
Jones, W5BJ, until the van Tuijls return.
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