Nereida Aruajo was 38 weeks pregnant and had been cleared to fly by her doctor when she boarded a plane from her home in Florida with her husband and two children on November 27. The plane the family was on was scheduled for a layover in Charlotte, North Carolina, before continuing on to Pennsylvania. But Nereida and her family did not make it past Charlotte because of an unscheduled birth. What?! It's true, Nereida gave birth in the airport just after the plane landed!
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"I was sleeping and I felt like a pop in my lower back," Nereida told news station WSOC. "I just felt like liquid and I woke my husband up." The plane's pilots landed as quickly as they could while a passenger, who was a nurse, helped. "There was a lady there, she was so sweet. She helped me with my breathing and everything," Nereida said. On the ground, first responders were waiting to help with delivery.
It's an extraordinary birth story with a beautiful ending. So many things had to go right for this to end well and they did!
There's a good reason why Nereida was flying while so far along.
The family was trying to get to Pennsylvania to spend Thanksgiving with her grandmother, who was diagnosed with cancer and was worried this would be her last Thanksgiving dinner with grandkids and great grandkids. Nereida had been cleared by both her doctor and the airline to fly.
Mom gave birth to a healthy baby girl!
Nereida delivered a healthy baby girl at 2 p.m. Soon after, she and the baby were taken to the hospital. And the baby's name? "We're going to call her Sky," Nereida said. The baby's full name is Lizyana Sky Taylor.
Nereida is so grateful for everyone's help.
"I just want to thank them so much," Nereida said. "Everybody was so great. They're like my heroes. It was an experience that I will always remember." She also went on Facebook to post a message of gratitude.
Meet Sky!
Isn't she beautiful? The only problem the family is having is that because Sky is so little, they cannot fly with her. "The doctor said that for the safety of baby Sky, we shouldn't fly since she is only a few days old, and it’s flu season. We didn’t come prepared for this," Nereida wrote on a GoFundMe campaign page that she started.
The family is now trying to raise funds to get Sky back home.
Nereida explained on the GoFundMe page: "It’s cold outside, and we have no baby clothes, car set, etc. We only have what the hospital has available, and we are going to need a rental car. Please help us get baby Sky reunited with our family back home!" So far they have raised $690 of their $4,000 goal.
