Help Camila Become the Miracle Baby

After five years of trying for a baby, in February of 2019 Coro and Marco received unexpected happy news. They were pregnant with a girl, their miracle baby: Camila, the first grandchild in Marco’s family. With the joyous news of the pregnancy they decided to leave Beijing, China, for Spain, to be closer to their families, and to utilize to universal healthcare available there. Plane tickets were booked and they were set to leave during the 26th week of her pregnancy. Architect Coro was working 14-hour days, saving for the move and maternity leave. She’d had chest pain for a while, but brushed it off. By August 18 the pain had become unbearable and Coro’s blood pressure spiked. Tests showed that there was liquid in her lungs and that her liver and kidneys were failing. She had a severe case of preeclampsia: a pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and signs of damage to another organ system, most often, as in Coro’s case, to the liver and kidneys. Left untreated, preeclampsia can lead to serious or fatal complications for mother and baby. The most effective treatment is delivery of the baby. At 4am on August 19, Coro’s preeclampsia was so severe that her, and Marco were asked to choose between the life of the mother and the baby, a choice no parent should have to make. Coro didn’t hesitate: “Save my baby”. Marco was distraught, he wanted the doctor to save his wife. At 25 weeks, baby Camila’s chance of survival was 50/50, while Coro could survive if they terminated the pregnancy. Camila Cortavitarte Urdaneta was born at 3pm on August 19, 2019, after 25 weeks in-utero, weighing 590g and measuring 29cm (a full-term baby born at 40 weeks is an average of 3500g and 50cm). The first time Marco met Camila she was on a respirator with an intravenous drip in her arm, antibiotics in her leg, and a feeding tube going into her belly. When Coro finally met Camila and began speaking to her, Camila reacted to her voice. Coro and Marco visit her every day. They tell her that they love her, and to be strong. The road ahead to getting Camila healthy means the family staying in Beijing. Coro and Marco have medical insurance, but a loophole in the policy has allowed the company to not automatically cover babies, so coverage for Camila has been refused. By early September the hospital bill surpassed 1.3 million RMB. After negotiation, the hospital agreed to charge 600,000 RMB for Camila’s medical care to be paid by December 12, 2019. Today, Camila is still in an incubator, and her parents have never held her. She’s hooked up to IVs, a feeding tube and oxygen machine. However, she’s started taking Coro’s breast milk and she’s gaining weight, on September 26 she weighed one kilogram. She has a nurse with her 24/7. Her lungs are underdeveloped, her breathing often quickens, and she can’t regulate it on her own. Coro, Marco and their doctors are taking things day by day, as Camila is still supposed to be in the womb. The goal is to get Camila to two kilos by December, so her parents can finally take their daughter home. Marco and Coro need to raise 600,000 RMB / $85,000 to cover Camila’s care, having spent all their savings on care up until now. For those who know Marco and Coro (of Coromoto AD, the architect for Moka Bros, La Social and Q Mex), you know that they are private, hardworking people. They agreed to share their story because they feel it’s the only way to help their daughter. Marco doesn’t feel comfortable asking for things, but when it comes to his daughter he’s willing to try anything. All they want is to hold their daughter. Their entire lives have been put on pause as they wait in limbo for Camila to get better, only able to hope and pray. Any donation will make a difference for Camila, Coro, y Marco. We hope that we can help to give them a chance to grow as a happy, healthy family. Please also help by forwarding this to your friends and groups. Thank you!