Couple stranded in Singapore with €163k medical bill after baby’s surprise birth

A couple stuck in Singapore after prematurely welcoming a baby boy there have started a crowdfunding campaign to help them get home.

Chloe Wilkinson from England was 24 weeks pregnant when she went into labour while on a two-day stopover in Singapore in February. She and her Irish-born partner Patraic Walsh-Kavanagh had been travelling around Asia since December 2017. They were working in Australia last November when they found out that Chloe was expecting a baby. She was brought to hospital in Singapore with an infection and gave birth to a boy named Lorcan on 26 February. Lorcan weighed less than two pounds and has been in intensive care in hospital since his birth. He is expected to be there for up to three months to the UK. His parents are looking at a cost of £140,000 (over €163,000) to pay for his care and get him home. The couple took out insurance before embarking on their travels but found out that it doesn't cover pregnancy. They are now living in a shared apartment close to the hospital. "Lorcan's been fighting with all his might and we are bursting with pride at the strength he is showing so far," Chloe told BBC News. "However, we are on our own, a 14-hour flight away from our family and friends, and it has been a very difficult start to parenthood whilst Lorcan remains in hospital." A crowdfunding page has now been set up to help the family get home. "We want to get Chloe home as quickly as possible giving her and her family as great a chance as possible," the GoFundMe page reads. "Ideally we want to raise the funds for a medical flight back to the UK, but anything raised can be used to support Chloe and their baby's medical care." At the time of writing just over £54,000 had been raised. You can find the page here.