A premature baby who was being “held hostage” in a hospital in Cancun, in Mexico, has finally been allowed to return home.
Parents Michaela Smith and Larry Ralph, from Indiana, had flown to Cancun 12 weeks before Michaela was due to give birth. Doctors had cleared her for travel, but she went into labour early and gave birth to a baby boy named Beckham in Cancun, on Tuesday, July 18.
Beckham weighed just two pounds, eight ounces at birth and his family were keen to take him back home, where he could get the best care possible.
Michaela and Larry wanted to take him back to the US but faced a battle over the enormous hospital bill - over $30,000 in total, not including the cost of an air ambulance to transfer their baby back home.
The couple had already paid $9,000 for the first day of care ,and another $4,000 in additional fees, but the hospital refused to release him to an air ambulance until the entire fee was paid.
Larry’s dad, Larry Ralph Senior, told Fox 59: “Larry went that whole evening without seeing the baby. They demanded pretty much he pay another $4,000, and that got him access to go back and see the baby.”
On top of that, the couple faced the cost of transporting baby Beckham to the US in an air ambulance, and struggled to find a hospital that would accept their health insurance.
They initially hoped to transfer the newborn to St Petersburg Hospital in Florida, however, the hospital would not accept the tot because of an issue with his mother’s health insurance.
The family then had to ask their local congressman to help them find a hospital in Indiana to take young Beckham. On their GoFundMe page, they said they have made “connections” with Riley Children’s Hospital, in Indianapolis.
The new medical jet that brought Beckham back to Indiana will cost the family almost $30,000, a sum they had to pay up front.
The family said they didn’t want to ask for money but were forced to set up a GoFundMe because the hospital costs kept climbing.
Yesterday, Beckham was finally released from hospital in Cancun, and the family boarded an air ambulance back to America.
They are hoping to raise enough money to cover the costs of his healthcare at home, as well as the outstanding sum from Mexico. Click here if you wish to donate.
