A heartbroken British mum claims she was asked for nearly £3,000 by doctors in the Caribbean or they would dispose of her dead baby's body when she went into early labour. Chloe Sullivan and Michael Parrott were on holiday in the Dominican Republic when Chloe, who was several months pregnant, gave birth prematurely on Saturday. She was taken to a private hospital where she underwent an emergency C-section, but the couple's son Arlo died shortly after. The grieving parents say the hospital then gave them a hefty medical bill and threatened to dispose of Arlo's body if they didn't make a £2,780 payment that day. Chloe and Michael, from London, expected to be treated with compassion, but claim they were told they couldn’t leave the medical unit until they had paid the bill, which has since sky-rocketed to £16,000. A crowdfunding campaign surpassed £17,000 in donations in less than 24 hours. Chloe and Michael say they were even stripped of their passports to prevent them from leaving the country, along with Chloe's four-year-old daughter Esme. The couple had told doctors that any medical treatment would need to be covered by their insurance provider. But they say the hospital demanded money on the spot to pay for treatment and even threatened to dispose of the newborn baby’s body unless they made an initial payment of $3,650 (£2,780) the same day as his death.
Chloe and Michael are now preparing to return home to the UK and bury their son, who died of persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN) and respiratory problems. The GoFundMe page, set up by Michael's cousin Harry Cottam, said: “Late on Saturday 13th October, Chloe noticed something unusual down below and spoke with a midwife who advised her to go straight to hospital."Upon arrival, Chloe and Michael paid a deposit to see the doctors and advised that any further treatment would need to be covered by their insurance and that if it couldn’t be then they would be unable to pay and continue.
The hospital was aware that their insurance, unfortunately, could not cover however did not give Chloe and Michael the opportunity to leave and said they needed to operate immediately. They originally quoted just under $11,000.They gave Chloe an emergency c-section and Arlo was born at 10:49am Sunday 14th October. They took Arlo straight to the neonatal ward."Neither Chloe or Michael was allowed to see Arlo at all. The Drs called them in at around 4am on October 15th to say Arlo was distressed and that they had discovered he had PPHN and respiratory problems. Arlo, unfortunately, passed later on that morning.“Chloe and Michael wanted to get Arlo home to the UK but the hospital threatened to dispose of his body unless they could make a payment of $3,650 the same day as his death, to get him to a funeral director. Luckily Chloe’s dad was able to help with this.
“Their hearts are broken and they just want to get home, however, the hospital refused to let them leave until they paid the medical fee which had now increased to over $20,000.“They physically do not have that kind of money nor can they access that easily."The couple claims their request to pay in instalments was rejected, and they were surrounded by security and police in a room at the hospital. Harry added: "Chloe’s four-year-old daughter was with them the whole time, I can’t imagine how scared she must have felt.“The hospital threatened to contact Interpol and said that if they did not hand over their passports they would ensure they could not leave the country. Harry wrote that Chloe "reluctantly" handed over her passport so the family could return to their hotel to rest. He said they now have five days to pay the £16,000 bill, "otherwise they will not return her passport".Harry added: “They are in an impossible position. Their hearts are breaking and they cannot grieve for their baby boy. If anyone can help in any way at all they will be eternally grateful."They are so sorry to ask this of our friends and family.