An 80-year-old had a stroke during a Norwegian cruise excursion. After the ship left her behind on an African island, her family tracked her journey home using an Apple AirTag.
- Julie Lenkoff had a stroke during a Norwegian cruise-sponsored tour on an African island, her son-in-law said.
- The cruise continued sailing, and the tour company said they left her with other stranded cruisers.
It wasn't a surprise to Julie Lenkoff's family that she was going on another cruise.
The 80-year-old has visited 120 countries, speaks 10 languages, and has been on countless cruises. Lenkoff is an experienced traveler, so no one batted an eye when she boarded a 21-day Norwegian cruise along the coast of Africa by herself on March 20, Kurt Gies, Lenkoff's son-in-law, told Business Insider.
But her family was shocked when another cruise passenger phoned Lenkoff's daughter, Lana Gies, to tell her they were with Lenkoff, Kurt said. She had been released from a hospital, could hardly speak, was losing her vision, and was on the African island of São Tomé and Príncipe.
Kurt told BI Lenkoff had a stroke during a cruise-sponsored excursion and that the tour operator and cruise company left her at a hospital, where she was later discharged and left to figure out her own way home.
Kurt said a group of stranded tourists helped Lenkoff return to the US, where she remains in serious condition at the Stanford Medical Center.
"We had the means, the technology, and the ability to navigate this massive network to get her home," Kurt said. "I can only imagine if a family didn't or if that person was truly by themselves. What would've happened?"
The family says they have other stranded cruisers to thank for Lenkoff's return
On March 27, day eight of the Norwegian cruise, passengers disembarked the ship to explore São Tomé and Príncipe.
Kurt said Lenkoff joined a cruise-sponsored excursion with the tour company Navetur Equatour. During the tour, she passed out and fell, Diogo Beirão, the chief operating officer of the tour company, confirmed to BI. When Lenkoff regained consciousness, he said she couldn't speak English and had lost feeling in the right side of her body.
At the time, Beirão said the main concern was if Lenkoff had broken a bone or experienced a concussion. Kurt said doctors in the US later confirmed that Lenkoff had a stroke.
Beirão told BI that his tour guides brought Lenkoff back to the dock, where he says a nurse from the Norwegian cruise evaluated her on the pier.
In a statement sent to BI, a Norwegian cruise representative said that "on March 27, 2024, an 80-year-old woman was medically disembarked after being evaluated by our onboard medical team, who thought it best that she receive further assessment and treatment as needed from a local hospital."
Beirão said Lenkoff was transported to the closest hospital, which was "not very comfortable" because it "had no private rooms, just curtains." However, Beirão said he believes it was the right decision not to let her reboard the cruise.
Kurt said Norwegian brought Lenkoff the belongings from her room; however, her credit cards and cash were lost. He added that the tour company later found the missing wallet in a tour van, which was brought to Lenkoff more than 24 hours after she was released from the hospital.
Kurt said he and the rest of Lenkoff's family had no idea this was happening since Norwegian hadn't contacted them.
Meanwhile, a group of eight people were on a separate, private tour of São Tomé and Príncipe. BI previously reported that the tour ran into issues, and the group missed the ship's boarding deadline.
The group was stranded on the island without cash or medications and with one working credit card, which passengers Jill and Jay Campbell owned. The group found a hotel, contacted the closest American consulate, and planned to meet the ship at its next port in the Gambia.
As all this was happening, Kurt said, Lenkoff was released from the hospital.
Beirão said he was unaware that Lenkoff had a stroke, but he visited her at the hospital, and "she was not totally functional" but "could speak very well." While Lenkoff could communicate, Beirão said she often forgot what she was trying to say mid-sentence.
In Norwegian's statement, the representative said: "We attempted to call the guest several times, and as we were unable to reach her, we worked directly with our port agent in São Tomé and Príncipe, an African island nation, to receive updates about the guest."
"In instances such as these," the statement continued, "as the guest was released from the hospital and in a coherent state, our protocol is to contact the guest directly, as we would not have the authority to share any medical details with anyone else without their expressed consent."
Kurt said there are no phone or WhatsApp records of Norwegian reaching out on her cellphone, and he believes that family members should've been contacted in this instance since the company could not reach Lenkoff to confirm she was in a coherent state.
After being discharged, Kurt said the tour company connected the Americans with Lenkoff.
"You have people figuring out how they're getting off this island, and they're given the responsibility to take care of an 80-year-old woman who just had a stroke," Kurt said.
At the time, Lenkoff had no way to pay for anything, so the Campbells provided Lenkoff with food and a place to sleep, Kurt said.
"I truly believe sometimes we're put in certain places for a reason, and I believe we were put in this place for the 80-year-old woman who was left alone. God forbid what would have happened to that lady if we were not here," Jay Campbell told North Carolina's WRAL.
Kurt said Lenkoff was still having trouble speaking and had started to lose her vision.
Using Lenkoff's phone, Jill Campbell called Lenkoff's daughter to tell her what happened. Around the same time, the American consulate called, though Kurt said the family was unsure how the consulate learned about Lenkoff's state.
Kurt said he and Lana attempted to reach Norwegian multiple times but couldn't connect with anyone at the company.
"It was decided that we need to get Julie off that island," he said. "No one at Norwegian was going to take responsibility for it."
The Norwegian representative told BI Lenkoff had been "escorted on a flight to Lisbon, Portugal, and then put in the care of airport staff to continue her journey to the United States, where she has now made a safe return."
Kurt said all of Lenkoff's travel arrangements were "made by her family" and that it wasn't Norwegian who escorted her, adding that the "airlines took responsibility for ensuring she got safely on each plane segment during her journey home."
He said Lenkoff flew to Lisbon, then to Toronto, and finally to San Francisco.
Thankfully, he said, Lana had sent her mom with an Apple AirTag so the family could watch Lenkoff make the trip back to the US.
The Apple product has become popular for tracking everything from missing suitcases to lost golfing equipment and a magician's sound equipment. Some parents are even using them to keep track of their children. According to Benzinga, Apple sold $1 billion worth of Airtags within two years of releasing the tracking device.
Kurt said he and Lana used the AirTag to follow Lenkoff in Lisbon as she reached her next gate.
"We were able to track her movement across the world as she was coming home, and that was a huge relief for us," he said.
Once Lenkoff arrived in California, Kurt said she was medically evacuated to the Stanford Medical Center.
"They pull her out on a gurney and this huge smile comes across her face as she sees her daughter for the first time," he told BI.
Today, Lenkoff is in critical condition
Since arriving at the hospital in California, Kurt told BI that Lenkoff has undergone numerous tests and scans. He said doctors believe she may have also had a heart attack, and while she was at the Stanford Medical Center, she experienced a second stroke.
Kurt said Lenkoff remains in a serious condition.
Meanwhile, the Gieses have continued to try to reach Norwegian. Kurt said two junior staffers have reached out to learn more about what happened, but he said no one from the cruise line had taken responsibility for not contacting Lenkoff's emergency contacts.
Kurt said the experience has taught him and his family that they should not rely on cruise companies to keep passengers safe.
Kurt heard from the Campbells that the group made it back on the ship on Wednesday. When everyone is healthy and back in the US, he said they plan to meet with the Campbells to thank them.
"We truly believe that our mother would've died had she been left to her own devices," Kurt said. "The Campbells are now members of our family. They are the true heroes of this story."
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