LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) – The struggle continues for one Arkansas couple who has been fighting to bring their preemie baby home from Argentina.
It's a story THV11 has been following for nearly five months. A young central Arkansas couple's baby was born prematurely while her mom was studying abroad. We are happy to report the family is finally back in Arkansas, but their struggles are far from over.
You can’t mistake the undeniable face of a proud parent. Behind those faces sits relief that their child is finally back home in central Arkansas.
"It is so good to be back home,” said Krista Calvin. Her daughter, Kara, was born November 17, 2017, at only 23 weeks. "She's definitely my little miracle baby. I call her my earth angel. She's like the best thing that has ever happened to me," said Krista.
Kara’s arrival came as quite the surprise. Her mom was on a one-week study abroad trip in Argentia with UA-Little Rock. "I was a bit terrified. I'm not used to being put in a vulnerable predicament where I don't have the answers or the tools I feel like I need to be there for my family the way I'd like to,” she said.
Kara’s dad, Terrance, was supposed to ship out for the military. "It was just, what can I do to get to the airport to get to Argentina,” the proud father explained. Kara was born in an Argentinian hospital, weighing just over one pound. She required round-the-clock care, and the bills started to add up. "We were being charged $3,000 a day, so around $21,000 a week. That continued on, so we were getting invoices every week showing these new balances," said Terrance.
In total, more than $2.9 million pesos. Since Terrance didn't make his ship date his TRICARE insurance, which would have covered nearly everything, was invalid. Krista had Blue Cross Blue Shield and bought additional trip insurance from Generali Global Assistance. Neither would cover the cost of the hospital bills.
So, for five months the couple lived abroad. It was an expense they hadn't planned for while trying to get their child healthy. "The reason they said, in hindsight, was, 'well, now Kara is her own person. So, although we cover maternal complications, and things of that nature, we don't consider her our emergency,” Krista said, shaking her head. The family then had all the paperwork.
"The birth certificate, her DNI, which is like a social security, but after that, we had issues as far as getting the passport for her to leave. Ultimately, we didn't get it. We were just able to kind of wiggle our way out of Argentina at the last minute,” Terrance said with a chuckle.
The couple said it was all worth it when they got to bring baby Kara home on April 10, 2018. She had to come straight to Arkansas Children's Hospital for irregular breathing but is expected to be released to go home soon. The family is looking forward to getting Kara home and getting some stability.
"Kara is such a fighter. She's been fighting from day one, so I have not a doubt in my mind that she's going to be just fine,” Krista said finally. If you’re interested in helping the Calvin’s, click here for their GoFundMe page.