Norwich family plead for help to get surprise baby born premature on Turkey holiday home
Baby Jack's family speak to ITV News Anglia reporter Raveena Ghattaura
A mum is desperate to get her newborn son back to the UK after he was born three months early while she was on holiday in Turkey.
Baby Jack, who weighs just a kilo and is 30cm long, came as a surprise to the family who were three days into their 10 day holiday when he arrived on 30 June.
Emma Baxter said she had been given permission to go on holiday by her midwife, after only finding out she was pregnant a month ago.
“I was initially undergoing biopsies for cancer but then found out I was five months pregnant. It was a massive shock as I’m nearly 40,” said Ms Baxter.
Jack currently needs around the clock care, and the family, who are from Norwich, want to get him home and get the support of a local specialist hospital.
Ms Baxter said: “I was rushed to the local hospital and within 15 minutes of arriving, Jack was born.
“We were only allowed to see him for two minutes which has been really traumatic. Jack was then transferred to a specialist paediatric intensive care hospital in Antalya an hour away from our hotel.”
Ms Baxter, a manager at Norwich Airport McDonald’s, and her husband Daniel Metcalf, were only allowed to first visit Jack on Tuesday (5 June).
He is being looked after by a hospital that costs €1,000 (£860) a day.
She said: “It hasn’t sunk in yet what we’re actually going through. We’re both absolutely exhausted and just want to be able to hold our son.”
She added: “When we’ve called the hospital for updates, all they’re interested in is when we are going to make a payment.”
The couple booked their first holiday for five years as a package deal and assumed they had insurance as part of the deal. However, it was not included.
A fundraising page has been set up to raise enough money to help get Jack back to the UK on a medical flight.
Thanks to the kindness of strangers, thousands of pounds has been raised which will help support the family with the mounting medical bills and daily cost of living while abroad.
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