Emily Morgan was still four months away from her December due-date – and on the middle of the ocean on a cruise holiday – when she in August of this year started experiencing intense labour pains.
The mother-of-one, who was enjoying a holiday with her husband and three year old daughter, made contact with the medical staff on board the ship. The doctor told her she could not give birth now, because the ship was still 14 hours away from the nearest port in Puerto Rico. But to Emily this meant nothing, she could feel her baby coming.
“I knew the baby was coming now, I could feel it”, she later told The Associated Press.
A mere 30 minutes after the conversation with the doctor, Emily gave birth to a 1,5 pound baby boy.
Following the very hasty delivery, Emily was told by the medical staff who her helped her that she had miscarried. When she still demanded to see the baby, she was informed that he was “still alive, but would not live for long.”
“But I had felt him kicking inside me, I felt the process of him getting bigger,” Emily said.
“I told them ‘I’m going to see him, I don’t care if he’s alive or if he’s dead.’”
Once reunited with the baby, the new mother-of-two did everything she could to keep her tiny little boy alive. She and the ship’s medical staff wrapped the boy in fresh towels, and tucked “microwaved saline packets around him to create a makeshift incubator.” They also used a sanitary napkin to keep his head warm.
Meanwhile, the ship’s captain had been made aware of the the brand new passenger on board, and had begun racing towards land.Two hours earlier than expected the ship arrived into Puerto Rico port, and the Emily and her baby were immediately rushed to hospital. A few days later, when his condition was a little more stable, baby Haiden was transferred to a facility in Miami.
According to his parents, their “miracle baby” will remain in the Florida facility until December, before hopefully being able to be moved to a hospital closer to the family home in Utah. Although his condition is reportedly stable, he’s still so tiny that doctors call him a micro-preemie.
“On a daily basis they tell us he is a miracle baby, and that he clearly wants to be here”, Emily told local TV station KSL-TV.
To cover their “astronomical” medical bills from both Puerto Rico and Miami, Haiden’s parents have set up a GoFund me page, where they ask people do donate a small sum to help them. Thus far, the campaign has raised more than $3,000.
In a statement on the page, the couple wrote: “he is a real “fighter. He will make it through all of this. He might not like needles or want to go to any checkups for a very long time after this, but he will continue to be an inspiration to all that hear his story.”
What a tiny giant! We are keeping this little fighter and his family in our thoughts!
