Updated

A U.S. citizen recently freed from a Nicaragua prison says it was the thought of his wife and 5-year-old son born with Down syndrome what helped him endure two years behind bars on a drug sentence that was later overturned on appeal.

In an interview with The Associated Press in New York City, Jason Puracal says he feels ecstatic to be back in the United States a free man and able to see his mother, sisters, his wife and son.

The 35-year-old Tacoma, Washington native said Monday that "the whole journey has been like a dream or a nightmare, I should say, and it still feels like it's not real."

Puracal was serving a 22-year sentence on money-laundering and drug charges before he was released last week.