A British couple could be facing medical bills of over £100,000 after their baby arrived prematurely while they were on holiday in the US.
Katie Amos (30) and fiancé Lee Johnston (29) welcomed son Dax eleven weeks before his due date and have now been told by doctors that the newborn will not be able to fly home until March.
The treatment is set to cost in the region of £130,000 and the couple have yet to find out if it will be covered by their travel insurance policy.
“We feel quite stranded at the moment, we are stuck here without our family. It is scary because we don’t know anyone so we are completely on our own. We just really want to get home but the main thing is Dax is as safe and as well as possible,” said Mr Johnston.
Richard Crow, a friend of the couple, has now set up a Facebook page to raise money for the pair, who have been put up in temporary accommodation funded by the Ronald McDonald charity.
“It’s hard enough having a child, especially the first because everything is so daunting, but to then be 11 weeks premature and be 5,000 miles away with no family, friends, or clothes, is really hard. They haven’t got Wi-Fi and the cost of communication is that much that they haven’t dared turn their phones on.
‘To then be told you’re not allowed to leave the hospital, is hard. Lee can’t work because he hasn’t got a Visa, so they have got no way of living while they are over there. They’ve also got house and bills to pay here. All I want to do, at a time when their main priority is Dax and caring for him, is take off the pressure on the money front. It would make the experience a hell of a lot better for them.”
