Hi George,
Greetings from a cold and snowy Toronto. Regarding my tweet about an Irish citizen in a spot of bother in South Africa, here’s the story:
My wife and I used to live in Dubai, my wife used to fly for Emirates, we still have quite a few friends there who are flying for them, one being an Irish girl (her name is Liz). Liz has had a history of stomach problems, ulcers etc... before Christmas she went to the Emirates clinic in Dubai (they are so large that they have their own hospitals and clinics for their staff) complaining of stomach pains and general tiredness etc. She went back to them for test results a couple of weeks ago but the clinic had lost her results, so in the interim the Doctor decided to up her ulcer medication.
On the 21st of Jan, Liz was on an overnight Johannesburg stop, she had severe stomach aches during the night - it turns out that they weren't cramps, they were labour contractions. She self delivered a premature baby girl in the hotel room and with the assistance of the staff was able to get the baby breathing and get to a private hospital. Liz did not know she was pregnant. I believe that staff in Emirates welfare department back in Dubai were initially being very good to Liz & baby but as of a few days ago (George – here’s the real kicker) her contract has been terminated and her health insurance revoked, She's now alone in JNB stuck with USD$86k medical bill (the hospital need payments up front for the next three months worth of care for baby Alexandra) along with accommodation costs, food etc... why, you ask did they terminate her employment and revoke her insurance? Because she is unmarried. She has worked for them for seven years and they have left her stranded in JNB.
Emirates have also told her to vacate the hotel she is staying in and she now has to find alternative accommodation for the next 5 months (baby Alexandra will be in hospital for three and it will be another two months afterwards that she can travel back to Ireland)
Liz has told me that the staff in the hotel she’s in (and soon has to leave) have been superb and even had a baby shower for her in her hotel room. I have written to one of the Vice Presidents of HR in Emirates who I know and explained the situation to him as I suspect it wasn’t escalated that high up the ranks. He has said they will investigate it.
If there is a silver lining, it’s that Liz is lucky that she didn’t give birth whilst in Dubai as she would have been jailed as it’s against the law to have a baby out of wedlock.
The unfortunate part is that she’s now stuck in JNB for the next five months. There is a facebook group called ‘Alexandra Johanna’ where there are details of an account that any donations can be made to help Liz and baby out. Her family and friends have managed to raise a good amount of the medical fees but we’re still many thousands of dollars/euros away from what the hospital are asking.
Anyhow George, that’s the story. I hope it’s of interest to you. If you need more info including mine or Liz (in SA's) tel number, please let me know.
______________________________________________________________________________________
So, there you go. An incredible story. If you'd like to help; here are the account details:
Bank: Nedbank
Branch Code: 13280500
Account Name: Mrs Louise Mickel
Account Number: 1328040364
Swift Code: nedszajj
8 comments:
I feel for her and the situation she is in..at the moment is the worst thats could happen to a person.
I have my owm opinion about Emirates and living in Dubai...Yes you always have to be carefull..
When you come to this country and work of the world's best airline and enjoy there five star hotal life and traveling ...the only thing thay warn you about is several times --Dont get pregnant you will be jailed and terminated and dont sleep if you are not married again if get cought --jailed and termination.
Responsibility is one thing as a crew...not a life of party and talking thing for grated...
BTW i have left some donation in her friends mail box hope it helps..best wishes
Hi, thanks for your comment. Yes, my wife and I both lived out there (my wife being EK crew) so I know the story. The only thing was that she didn't know she was pregnant.... at least if she did, she could have done something about it (i.e. resigned) it's just really really unfortunate how it happened.
Anyhow, I'm sure Liz & baby are very grateful for your donation. Thanks so much.
I've copied and pasted your blog on several Aviation Websites, hoping to not only raise funds for her and the baby, but also to make people think twice before actually applying to EK. There is a EK RoadShow coming up on the 10th of March in JNB, hopefully questions will be asked about this whole story.
I'm confused.
If you were pregnant, you don't get your period. Even if you were irregular.
How could you go on 6 months without getting a period AND not get a pregnancy check?
I feel sorry that this has to happen to the baby and the mother...but seriously...
For the last Anonymous comment.
You need to read up on information about pregnancies before you make any comments that are uncalled for.
As cabin crew you sometimes dont have your periods for months on end so thats nothing new to us and Liz had been flying for 7 years so i am sure that was the case. PLUS some woman still bleed during pregnancy and that can be mistaken for a period and not all woman get morning sickness.
A little harsh to say things when you dont know all the facts, we would rather not hear from people like you.
Yes indeed, there's a whole series dedicated to women who didn't know they were pregnant - it's so much more common than you realize http://health.discovery.com/tv/i-didnt-know-i-was-pregnant/about.html
Wow , extraordinary story .I first read about her on pprune.
I've sent a small donation via paypal. Would you be kind enough to keep us up to date with the girl's progress ? ( Both of them) . Kind rgds
Stuart W
Hi all, thanks so much for the support, I'll be sure to follow up with an update post soon. Just a quick one - both Mum and baby are back in Ireland safely and little Alexandra is doing super :-)
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