Local couple stranded at Mexico hospital with newborn children born out of surrogacy
Posted January 27, 2015 7:01 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
MEXICO CITY (NEWS1130) – It’s a cautionary tale for anyone who is thinking about heading to another country to get help conceiving.
A couple from Pitt Meadows who used a surrogacy clinic in Mexico is now living a nightmare after their two children were born prematurely.
The twins — a boy and a girl — were born January 8th and are not yet well enough to fly home. Little Ayden and Ariana have spent time on ventilators.
Ariana suffered two collapsed lungs two days ago. Ayden has developed a fungal infection and is now on more antibiotics. Both babies have been downgraded to critical condition.
Every day spent in the hospital means thousands more dollars in bills, says Lindsay Pruden, a cousin of the childrens’ father.
“There are a lot of problems here. They’re on ventilators. Everything has gone bad that could go bad. They’re just being told every couple of days ‘We need more money, we need more money.’ The babies have not been issued birth certificates yet and we are just doing everything we can to get them home.”
She says it’s around $6,000 for every four days for their care and the hospital is taking steps to ensure every penny is paid before the children are cleared to head north, no matter what their state of health.
“They’re dealing with desperate people and they know that,” says Pruden. “Things seem to have gotten out of control. Things aren’t going as planned and our hands are kind of tied right now and it’s getting very scary, especially with the one baby’s health declining all the time.”
The surrogacy clinic hasn’t issued birth certificates, so even if they are healthy, the children wouldn’t be able enter Canada until they are issued. The clinic, on the outskirts of Mexico City, likely wouldn’t do that until fully paid.
Pruden says they’re exploring all options right now, including medical evacuation flights as they struggle to pay those mounting bills.
“People are coming at us with suggestions… We’re looking at every option under the sun right now. There’s a lot of stuff we don’t know. In hindsight, this was a horrible idea,” she admits.
Prudent tells us the parents followed all the proper channels leading up to the surrogacy.
“They’ve done everything. They worked with a lawyer. They’ve done everything legally. They thought they had everything handled and it has become complete chaos.”
A website has been set up for anyone wanting to donate to the family.
