Help Camila Become the Miracle Baby She’s Meant to Be

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It warms our hearts to see the Beijing community come together to help one of its own. Yesterday pleas of help circulated around WeChat groups asking for donations to help Camila Cortavitarte Urdaneta. Parents Coro and Marco shared the story of the pregnancy and medical complications that followed. 

Having spent all their savings on care up until now, they’re trying to raise RMB600,000 to cover the remainder of Camila’s medical care. 

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 for Spain, to be closer to their families and to utilize the universal healthcare available there. Plane tickets were booked and they were set to leave during Coro’s 26th week of pregnancy.

Architect Coro was working 14-hour days, saving up for the move and her maternity leave. She’d have chest pains once in 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 she and Marco were asked to choose between the life of the mother or the life of the baby, a choice that no parent should ever 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 50-g and measuring 29cm (a full-term baby born at 40 weeks is an average of 3,500g and 50cm).

The first time Marco met Camila she was on a respirator with an intravenous drip in her tiny arm, antibiotics in her legs, and a feeding tube going into her belly. When Coro finally met her daughter and began speaking to her, Camilareacted to her voice. Coro and Marco visit her every day and tell her that they love her, and to be strong. 

The road ahead to getting Camila healthy means the family needs to stay in Beijing. Coro and Marco have medial insurance, but a loophole in the policy has allowed the company to not automatically cover babies, so cover for Camila has been refused.

By early September the hospital bill has already surpassed RMB1.3 million. After negotiation, the hospital agreed to charge RMB600,000 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 an oxygen machine. However, she’s started taking Coro’s breast milk and she’s gaining weight. On September 26 she weight 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 RMB600,00 to cover Camila’s care, having spent all their saving 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 to things, but when it comes to his daughter, he’s willing to try anything. All they want to do is hold their daughter. Their entire lives have been put on pause as they wait in limbo for Camila to get better. 

Any donation will make a difference for Coro, Marco, and Camila. Help give them a chance to grow as a healthy, happy family.

To help Marco and Coro organize the donations, family friend Anna Lin Yip (WeChat ID: annalinyip) has volunteered to answer any questions about the couple and their situation as well as help with issues regarding donation.

Donate directly to Coro’s WeChat by scanning the QR code below.

Or Marco’s Alipay.

Photos: Courtesy of Anna Lin Yip