$17.6K bill to medevac premature baby from B.C. has Alberta parents asking for 'a little help'

Parents from southern Alberta are trying to medevac their son back home after he was born nearly two months prematurely, and in the wrong province, but it might cost them asteep ambulance bill of$17,599.

Mark Horne and Michael Knipea family physician and local business owner, respectively liveinLethbridge, Alta..

After being together for 10 years,their dream of having a child was finally coming true when they found a surrogate in B.C. to have their baby.

Plans were made to have the surrogate come to Alberta for the birth of the child, but on March 29 she went into labour seven weeks ahead of schedule.

Since she was in B.C. at the time, the baby was taken to the B.C. Children's Hospital in Vancouver.

For the two months since Joshua's birth, his dads have been at his side in the hospital, abandoning their own lives in Alberta to be with their son.

Inter-provincial health agreements

Joshua has been gaining weight and is relatively healthy and stable;however, he has problems with his breathing believed so far to be central hypoventilation wherein Joshua's body isn't naturally triggered to always take a breath when carbon dioxide builds up in the body.

It's unknown if the problem is permanent, or just related to his premature birth. If not properly treated, the condition can lead to organ damage, especially in the brain.

Since Joshua is stable, his dads wantto bring him back to Calgaryto be closer to home, but neither the Alberta or B.C. health authorities are interested in paying for the ambulance needed to transport the child.

"Right now the authorities are saying, 'Sorry guys, he's getting the correct level of care right here, so there's no medical need for him to move,'" Horned told CBC News.

A spokesperson for Alberta Healthsays they are looking to see if any flights are already scheduled to return to Calgary from Vancouver,but their policy published online says thiswould be an exception:

All Albertans must pay the cost of emergency ambulance services and inter-facility transfers when travelling outside Alberta because these services are not covered by inter-provincial reciprocal health-care agreements.

Air ambulance services are not insured services under theCanada Health Act, and in most provinces, are not covered by inter-provincial reciprocal agreements.

Horne is concerned that while Joshua is having all of his immediate needs met, none of the planning for his future care can take place at the Vancouver hospital.

There is also no timeline for how much longer the baby will need to be in the hospital's care.

Knipe and Hornehad a private company give them an estimateon what it would costto move their son themselves, and Executive Air Ambulance quoted them$17,599 for the onehour, 17-minute flight.

Crowdfunding campaignlaunched

Knipe took to the internet to see if they could rally support. On Saturday, heposted a GoFundMe page to raise the money they needed. Monday afternoon the page had already brought in more than $15,000.

... a little help from their side would be great.- MarkHorne

"We're blown away and overwhelmed by the level of support we've received," Horne said.

"Just to know that there's so much support and love out there is just the best thing. To know this little man is loved by so many peoplefriends, family, strangers is really wonderful. I get tears in my eyes just thinking about it."

For other new parents, or patients that might not be as well supported, Horne hopes politicians and bureaucrats will take a look at the hoops they're asking people to jump through, and the extra stress addedat an already stressful time.

"I'd love to have the authorities be aware people get stuck like this and people need to leave their lives. And just to make them aware that a little help from their side would be great."