A premature baby is fighting for her life in a Miami hospital after being born three months early in a foreign country.
Maggie Stewart had to stay in Mexico after her premature baby was medically evacuated and brought to Niklaus Children’s Hospital, but reunited this weekend.
“We cannot touch her, we try to limit how much we talk to her even because it can stir her,” said Maggie.
Poppy is only a few days old and already a fighter. She is in an incubator attached to a ventilator, and after her unexpected delivery in Mexico, the baby has faced more hurdles than many do in a lifetime.
“We are in this horrible waiting game, I just hope that she grows through them,” said Maggie.
Maaggie flew into Miami on Friday after having an emergency C-section in Playa del Carmen, where the family was spending a pre-baby vacation that was cleared by her doctors.
“We had a three year working stretch and we needed a break. You know, when you make a plan, God has a different one,” said Maggie.
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The dream getaway turned into a nightmare when she showed symptoms of an infection, three months before her due date.
“Over days, I was leaking fluid and when she was actually delivered, I had no fluid left in my uterus,” said Maggie.
At that point, the priority became getting Poppy the life-saving care she needed.
“We had problems with getting my 1.5 pound baby back into the country easily, we got through that. We battled it out with some insurance, we battled it out with an aircraft company, and we got here just in the nick of time,” said Jeremy, Poppy’s father.
Now the family is focusing on the battle ahead, as they prepare to make Miami their new temporary home.
“We are being realistic, she has a long road ahead of her, but we are here for her and we know that everyone out there is here for us.”
The family is from California, and will remain in Miami until their baby is strong enough to fly back to the west coast.
The family said that none of this would have been possible if it weren’t for their doctors in Mexico and the support from their family and friends in the U.S.
