A pregnant woman who jetted off on a ‘baby-moon’ was trapped in Greece for TWO months and forced to spend a whopping £5,000 on accommodation – after her daughter made a surprise early arrival.
Robyn Bishop, 29, from Northampton, flew to Crete with partner Stephen Howe, 32, for a luxurious stay at a five-star adults only resort in April 2022.
The mum-to-be was 29 weeks pregnant at the time, and had been signed off as fit to fly by her doctor. But just two days after landing in Greece, Robyn’s waters broke and baby Flora arrived six weeks early.
Robyn Bishop, 29, jetted off on a ‘babymoon’ before the birth of her first child but she was then trapped in Greece for TWO months – after her daughter made a surprise early arrival
The trio landed back in the UK on June 8, after two months in Greece, thanks to a medical repatriation flight
The insurance company initially declared the baby was too premature to fly. But eventually the trio landed back in the UK after two months in Greece thanks to a medical repatriation flight.
Mental health nurse Robyn, who lives with boyfriend Stephen, said: ‘I’m so traumatised by the whole experience. I’m a first time mum with a premature baby and we were just stuck in another country with no help, it’s been so difficult.
‘We were calling the insurance company seven times a day, just trying to find a way back to the UK. We were desperate to get home.
Mental health nurse Robyn said: ‘I’m so traumatised by the whole experience. I’m a first time mum with a premature baby and we were just stuck in another country with no help, it’s been so difficult.’ In the end Robyn had to have a C-section
Robyn Bishop, 29, lives with partner Stephen Howe, 32, in Northampton, and were looking forward to a relaxing holiday and baby-moon before the busy early months of a new baby arrived
‘I’m just so relieved that Flora is here safe and sound. It was unlikely I could have had children easily naturally due to PCOS, so she is my miracle baby!
Their first child’s due date was June 24, so Robyn and Stephen, who is the director of a painting and decorating company, decided to book a ‘babymoon’ in Greece to fly on April 17.
Robyn said: ‘We actually booked our holiday before we got pregnant and then decided to use it as a babymoon as I’d still be safe to fly.
Robyn said she feels traumatised by the experience of having her baby prematurely over seas and being trapped there without family and friends for so long, not knowing when they’d be able to return
Sadly, once Robyn gave birth to Flora via C-section, she hardly saw her newborn baby, sometimes only seeing her once a week
‘We had been struggling with the idea of having a baby and the realities of it. We’d hoped some time, just the two of us, without life’s stresses, would give us an opportunity to reconnect before our baby arrived.’
Robyn visited her doctor in April 2022 where she was declared fit to fly and set off with Stephen, five days later.
But the peace and tranquility of their last holiday without a baby was soon disturbed when Robyn’s waters broke on their second day. As she sat down on a chair on their hotel balcony everything changed.
Robyn and baby Flora were in Venizeleio Hospital, in Heraklion, for a total of four weeks, with Stephen back and forth to the hospital to be with his partner and newborn
She was rushed to Venizeleio Hospital in Heraklion, on the north side of Crete, Greece’s largest island, by ambulance, where medical staff administered medication to try and stop the contractions and halt the premature labour.
Despite the doctor’s attempts at delaying the birth, Robyn and Stephen’s child was in no mood to wait and baby Flora was born a few weeks later on May 13 via caesarean.
With her original plan to give birth in her local hospital back in Northampton, Robyn found the experience of having her baby six weeks prematurely in another country very traumatising.
Once baby Flora was born she was reunited with her mother for another two days, and she was kept in an incubator (pictured)
Robyn said: ‘Nobody spoke any English and they weren’t explaining what they were doing so I was just having drugs pumped into me without knowing what medication it was.
‘After the C-section, I woke up to no baby. I didn’t see Flora for two days, and then only saw her once a week.
‘I was in hospital for four weeks and we only saw her four times and only allowed to touch her twice. It was horrible.’
After being discharged from the hospital last month, Robyn, Stephen and baby Flora were still left trapped in Greece and struggled to get back to the UK.
Baby Flora slept throughout the flight, only waking for a feed. And she was hooked up to a heart rate monitor and was strapped into a cosy pod
Robyn claims their medical insurance company, Mayday, had originally stated that premature Flora was unfit to fly due to arriving six weeks early.
The new mum claims that Mayday did offer an ambulance to take them back to the UK but says that doctors advised against the four-day trip with a premature baby.
The family were stuck in Greece for eight weeks and had to change accommodation four times, spending a whopping £5,000 on finding a place to stay.
Dad Stephen said: ‘It’s been such a difficult journey. The medical insurance company were making financial decisions that they were putting above the health of our baby.
‘They were doing everything they could to keep us there instead of paying out for our medical repatriation home which is what is on our policy and what we had paid for!’
Thankfully Robyn said the journey ‘was a dream’. The ambulance crew visited the apartment to check Flora’s vital signs to ensure she was fit to fly. And the paramedics instructed the two to go to sleep during the four-hour flight and they’d handle any feeds/nappies
Robyn said: ‘I’m traumatised by the whole experience. I’ve PTSD from everything that has happened and I’m so frightened of pain that I have a breakdown every time I have to change my dressings.
‘I’m a first time mum with a premature baby and we were just stuck out there in another country with no help, it’s been so difficult.
‘Only time will tell how this will leave us – we’re still going through it and have both experienced our own traumas throughout. We’re still learning how to communicate and share these experiences.’
Thankfully, Mayday finally managed to put the family on a medical repatriation flight on June 8 and they’re now back home.
Prior to the flight, a spokesperson for Staysure Insurance, who use Mayday as their global assistance company for customers, said: ‘Our priority is to ensure that baby Flora gets the best care possible, which is why we have been closely liaising with our medical team on the ground, and the doctors at the hospital, to discuss the safest way to get the family back home to the UK.
When the family landed they were taken in an ambulance and straight to Robyn’s mother’s address where they were all finally reunited. ‘I’m just so relieved that Flora is home safe and sound,’ she added.
‘Various options were explored, including transfer by road ambulance with a specialised medical team, however, despite the doctors declaring baby Flora fit to fly home on a commercial flight, Mayday, our 24/7 global assistance company, overruled the decision and instead have arranged her transfer by air ambulance, to ensure the safest and most comfortable journey home for them all.
‘Staysure always strive to deliver the best travel insurance so our customers can travel confidently knowing we’re there for them when they need us.’
Although still dealing with the trauma of their rocky start to family life, Robyn and Stephen are pleased to be back and are settling in with Flora at home.
Robyn said: ‘The journey honestly was a dream. The ambulance crew came to the apartment and checked her vital signs to ensure she was fit to fly.
‘They went through some questions about her birth, treatment following it and my pregnancy and they then put her in the pod and into the ambulance.
‘We were put in a taxi and we all went to the consulate to pick up her passport. From there, we drove to the airport and went through the crew security and straight onto the plane.
‘The paramedics were incredible and instructed us to go to sleep if we could and they’d handle any feeds/nappies. It took just over four hours and we were in Luton.
‘Flora slept the whole way, only waking for a feed. She was hooked up to a heart rate monitor where they tracked her O2 levels and was strapped into a cosy pod.
‘When we landed, she went in an ambulance and us in a taxi to my mum’s address where we were all finally reunited.
‘I’m just so relieved that Flora is home safe and sound. Although I am suffering with some post-partum depression, because for a long time it was unlikely I could have children easily due to having PCOS.
‘I’m extremely happy she’s finally here. I couldn’t wait for her to come – and it turns out, neither could she!’
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