Marcel Syron finally returns to NZ after months in Panama hospital

Marcel Syron, of Whangārei, on his way to Middlemore Hospital for treatment after flying in from Panama, where he was injured while diving in a swimming pool this March.

After months of receiving intensive care at a Panama Hospital, Whangārei yachtie Marcel Syron is finally back home and together with his family and friends.

Following his arrival on July 31, he was admitted to the Middlemore Hospital in Auckland to further treat the serious spinal injuries he suffered in Central America during his sail-around-the-world adventure this year.

On March 26, while diving in a swimming pool, Marcel sustained injuries to his back and spinal column when he hit his head on the buttress of the stairs of the pool. He was immediately taken to the Santo Tomas hospital by his yacht crew.

His best friend Cameron Holm played a significant role in bringing him back to Aotearoa and was overjoyed to meet him a day after his arrival.

“It’s a miracle that he’s still alive, is what the Panama doctors said after seeing his condition.

“He can now move both his arms and talk and eat as normal. But we are yet to see any movement in his hands, legs or feet.”

Marcel Syron (left) and his best friend Cameron Holm during one of their several overseas trips.

When he visited Marcel in April, a family member had asked him to not fall apart when he saw his friend.

“It was hard to see him in that state, of [an] induced coma. Sometimes I would just sit and talk to him and hope he could hear me.

“Funnily, when I asked him about it recently, he said that he saw me in his dreams, [and in them] I used to sit beside him and talk. That was cool.”

As Marcel kept improving over time, plans to bring him back home became a “real mission”.

While the Santo Tomas hospital doctors and nurses were helpful, their healthcare bureaucracy was frustrating, Holm said.

“Their staff at reception repeatedly refused to give us an estimate on Marcel’s medical bills.

“They said it was their policy to provide that on the day he would be discharged. But if we were unable to pay, then he wouldn’t be allowed to leave. It was crazy because it was difficult to reason with them.”

Marcel is so grateful to the big team that helped him - life-savers, caregivers, and those individuals and groups who contributed to Givealittle and prayed for his recovery.

He said the family was also taken aback when the hospital insisted that booking an ambulance aircraft was the only way Marcel could be moved - but that would be at a cost of NZ$1 million.

“We even got our consulate involved to smooth things on the bureaucracy end.”

His family also received “massive support” from Aotearoa-based ambulance service Mission Coordinate, which helped organise their medical assistance and book their business-class flights back home for $94,000.

Their tiresome journey of over 18 hours saw them take connecting flights from Panama to Houston and finally land in Auckland.

Marcel’s sister Donna and her husband were accompanied by a doctor and a nurse who continuously attended to Marcel’s frequent loss of consciousness and administered oxygen throughout the journey.

She was the first one to hastily hop onto a plane to Panama after she learned of her brother’s accident and had been beside him ever since.

Donna said by the end of four months, they had to pay about US$120,000 (NZ$200,000) to Santo Tomas Hospital.

“The sale of Marcel’s yacht and house and generous donations from the Givealittle page paid for his medical bills in Panama and return flights.”

But now the family was going through another hurdle - this time it was ACC.

“Even though he’s paid a high levy as a builder for about 20 years, they will not cover for him since he was out of the country for more than six months before his accident.”

Their father Bob Syron said his son had a “huge road ahead for recovery”.

The Advocate understands Marcel was undergoing rehab to strengthen his arms while also dealing with a persistent bedsore and may need a skin graft.

Marcel’s family and friends thank all those who prayed for his recovery.

“Without the big team of helpers and contributors, he would never have made it home.”

Avneesh Vincent is the crime and emergency services reporter at the Advocate. He was previously at the Gisborne Herald as the arts and environment reporter and is passionate about covering stories that can make a difference. He joined NZME in July 2023.