Father and son escape swine flu detention in Malaysia. Glad to be home

Alex de Vos
A Corio father and son have arrived home after spending five days isolated in a Malaysian hospital with swine flu symptoms.
Nevada Cornwall said the experience at least had a silver lining as a chance to bond with 11-year-old son Luke.
The pair was travelling on an Air Asia flight last week when staff evacuated the plane after an attendant noticed Luke coughing.
Doctors put Mr Cornwall and Luke in isolation at Sungai Buloh Hospital while carring out tests to determine whether they had the potentially deadly virus.
Father and son were allowed to leave after the results came back negative.
Mr Cornwall said the experience was “frustrating” but denied reports suggesting his and Luke’s time in isolation was like a prison sentence.
“The standard of the hospital was quite good and the people were lovely but because of the cultural differences and the language barrier it was hard to get what we needed and what we asked for,” Mr Cornwall said.
He passed the time teaching his son the history of South-East Asia and the Khmer Rouge’s reign over Cambodia.
“Luke got a five-day history lesson and now he can reel off dates, names and places,” Mr Cornwall said.
“We also played hundreds of games of hangman and just talked – we both love to talk.”
Mr Cornwall, a social worker, said the experience was a great opportunity to spend quality time with his son despite the extreme circumstances.
“You never get a chance to spend five days straight with your son and it was great to bond.”
The father and son were on their way home from a Cambodian trip when authorities intervened.
“We’d been in Siem Reap providing assistance to a Singapore couple who were trying to get a school up and running,” Mr Cornwall said.
Mr Cornwall was “relieved” and “happy” when their flight from Malaysia touched down on Australian soil on Tuesday night.
Luke told the Independent he battled illness and boredom while in isolation.
“The food was cold and I only really had three good meals,” he said.