She traveled way past when it's safe to fly pregnant, and now looks for sympathy.
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QUEBEC COUPLE HIT WITH $90,000 BILL AFTER HARROWING BIRTH IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
CAMILLE LAURIN-DESJARDINS | QMI AGENCY
MONTREAL - A sunshine sojourn became a financial nightmare for a young Montreal-area couple whose daughter's premature birth in the Dominican Republic cost $90,000.
"We knew that having a girl would be expensive, but not that expensive," Valerie Gelinas, 29, quipped while cradling her month-old daughter at their home in Saint-Basile-le-Grand, Quebec.
She and her partner, Jean-Francois Bussiere-Bourdages, booked five days in the Dominican with their 18-month-old toddler in mid-December. Gelinas was 33 weeks pregnant.
The day after they landed, Gelinas began to have contractions. They went to a clinic and had an ultrasound.
"Everyone spoke Spanish, and no one answered my questions...I panicked," Gelinas said.
Then her water broke and the doctor ordered her to a hospital in Santo Domingo, three hours away.
"We had to pay US$20,000 before they agreed to call an ambulance," the baby's father said.
They made the three-hour drive and were shocked when they arrived.
"We were in a kind of basement, it really didn't look like a hospital," Gelinas recalled. "I was afraid I'd been caught in organ trafficking!"
She had a C-section the next morning, Dec. 15. Her baby girl, Oceane, weighed 5 lbs. and was immediately placed in an incubator.
"They told us she should stay at least a month before flying," Bussiere-Bourdages said.
He instead called a Montreal air-ambulance service and received terrifying news.
"When we contacted Sky Service, they advised us to come back as soon as possible, that (Oceane's) life could be in danger," he said.
The parents only hugged their girl for the first time when they arrived back in Montreal. Now they're trying to get the Quebec health system to reimburse them for their Caribbean nightmare.
Their bill is $90,000, including $40,000 for the air ambulance.
"We're not rich," Bussiere-Bourdages said. "We borrowed left and right, we're in debt."
But he can see the silver lining.
"At least...our baby is healthy."
Sun News : Quebec couple hit with $90,000 bill after harrowing birth in Dominican Republic
==================
QUEBEC COUPLE HIT WITH $90,000 BILL AFTER HARROWING BIRTH IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
CAMILLE LAURIN-DESJARDINS | QMI AGENCY
MONTREAL - A sunshine sojourn became a financial nightmare for a young Montreal-area couple whose daughter's premature birth in the Dominican Republic cost $90,000.
"We knew that having a girl would be expensive, but not that expensive," Valerie Gelinas, 29, quipped while cradling her month-old daughter at their home in Saint-Basile-le-Grand, Quebec.
She and her partner, Jean-Francois Bussiere-Bourdages, booked five days in the Dominican with their 18-month-old toddler in mid-December. Gelinas was 33 weeks pregnant.
The day after they landed, Gelinas began to have contractions. They went to a clinic and had an ultrasound.
"Everyone spoke Spanish, and no one answered my questions...I panicked," Gelinas said.
Then her water broke and the doctor ordered her to a hospital in Santo Domingo, three hours away.
"We had to pay US$20,000 before they agreed to call an ambulance," the baby's father said.
They made the three-hour drive and were shocked when they arrived.
"We were in a kind of basement, it really didn't look like a hospital," Gelinas recalled. "I was afraid I'd been caught in organ trafficking!"
She had a C-section the next morning, Dec. 15. Her baby girl, Oceane, weighed 5 lbs. and was immediately placed in an incubator.
"They told us she should stay at least a month before flying," Bussiere-Bourdages said.
He instead called a Montreal air-ambulance service and received terrifying news.
"When we contacted Sky Service, they advised us to come back as soon as possible, that (Oceane's) life could be in danger," he said.
The parents only hugged their girl for the first time when they arrived back in Montreal. Now they're trying to get the Quebec health system to reimburse them for their Caribbean nightmare.
Their bill is $90,000, including $40,000 for the air ambulance.
"We're not rich," Bussiere-Bourdages said. "We borrowed left and right, we're in debt."
But he can see the silver lining.
"At least...our baby is healthy."
Sun News : Quebec couple hit with $90,000 bill after harrowing birth in Dominican Republic
