A British mother who gave birth at just 26 weeks of pregnancy while on holiday in Turkey is now facing hospital bills of £1,000 a week.
Mum-of-two Tesni Griffiths, 27, was visiting her partner Omar’s family in the Middle East when she suddenly went into labor 12 weeks early.
She had to have an emergency C-section while she was abroad and baby Aras was born on September 27, weighing just 2lbs 2oz.
Tesni was on holiday from Wrexham, North Wales, when she woke up with mild cramps – and was then rushed to hospital almost three hours away.
She said: “So I was taken to Mugla Hospital in an ambulance. When I arrived, I tried to give birth naturally, but my baby’s heart rate suddenly dropped, so I had to be rushed to an emergency C-section.
A young British mother gave birth 12 weeks prematurely while on holiday in Turkey and is now facing a huge bill to get home.
Tesni Griffiths had to have a caesarean section abroad and baby Aras was born on September 27 weighing just 2lb 2oz
The mother-of-two, 27, was visiting her partner Omar’s family in the Middle East when she suddenly went into labor at just 26 weeks
Tesni was on holiday from Wrexham, North Wales, when she woke up with mild cramps – and was then rushed to hospital almost three hours away
“I woke up around 6 p.m., Aras was born with a small hole in his heart and with breathing problems we can only see him for half an hour on Mondays and Thursdays.”
Tesni said Aras is “doing well,” adding, “He is receiving oxygen, but he is not receiving ventilation.
‘It was definitely a very frightening experience. Even now I’m still scared.
‘My last birth, Alfie, was eight years ago and he was ten weeks premature, but it wasn’t as difficult as this birth.’
Lia’s Wings charity, a hospital flight for children, will fly Tesni and baby Aras home in six weeks, but his care in the Turkish hospital is costing almost £1,000 a week.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money to try and bring the couple home sooner.
Tesni said: ‘We will struggle to pay for that as the caesarean section and ambulance cost just over £2,000, so we are trying to raise money for his hospital care and transport to hospital – a five-hour journey each day.
‘Any help would be greatly appreciated and we are doing our best to get baby Aras back to the UK.’
The fundraiser hopes to raise £2,000, of which £740 has been donated so far.