An Australian mother who gave birth to a surprise baby boy during a deadly hurricane has issued a desperate plea after being told she would have to wait months to return home.
Dayna Sly gave birth to a baby girl, Audrey, who she had no idea she was carrying just before the massive and deadly Hurricane Milton hit Florida on Wednesday night.
Sly said she had problems when she came off the birth control pill, but doctors were “convinced” she had polycystic ovary syndrome.
With no visible belly or morning sickness, she was convinced she wasn’t pregnant until she suddenly went into labor as the storm hit the state.
Paramedics were able to locate her quickly, but were unable to get her to a hospital before little Audrey was born in a hotel bathroom in the middle of a blackout.
While Mrs. Sly, her fiancé Tony O’Keefe, and their baby survived the hurricane unharmed, they are now trapped in a bureaucratic nightmare since Audrey is a United States citizen.
The Australian couple from Raymond Terrace in the Hunter region of New South Wales have to apply for Audrey’s Australian citizenship, which could extend their original holiday to Waly Disney World Resort by up to seven months.
While their travel insurance covers their medical bills, they would not be able to remain in the country while they wait for their citizenship to be approved.
Placed in bureaucratic limbo, New South Wales woman Dayna Sly gave birth to a baby girl, Audrey (both pictured), she didn’t know she was carrying while on holiday in the US.
Dayna Sly and Terry O’Keefe have made a desperate appeal to the Australian government
O’Keefe said the Australian government has not “guaranteed him citizenship” and he has been forced into a stalemate that has depleted his savings.
“They just asked us to pay $360 and they will contact us when they can if they grant him citizenship,” he said. weekend today.
‘We are Australian citizens, we don’t have that kind of balance or funds to live here for almost a year.
“We’re Australian, we’d love to come back to Australia.”
Mrs Sly added: “I have to get home and we don’t know if they will let us go home or if we will be able to get home in the near future.”
“We have travel insurance, thank God, but the main concern is trying to get back to Australia.”
“Technically he has an American birth certificate and at the moment we have been trying to contact the Australian authorities and yesterday we were jumping through some hoops just to get help.”
On Sunday afternoon, a Department of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman confirmed that the government was assisting the couple.
“The Australian government is providing support to two Australians in the United States,” the spokeswoman said.
“Due to our privacy obligations, we are unable to provide further comment.”
She and her fiancé Tony O’Keefe must wait up to seven months for Audrey (both pictured) to gain Australian citizenship.
The couple was in Orlando on vacation at Walt Disney World Resort (pictured) when Hurricane Milton hit Florida earlier this week.
Despite the uncertainty, the new mother said Audrey was “doing great” even with the lack of prenatal care or preparation.
“I can’t believe how well she is doing considering some of the things Mum was doing, like going for walks and traveling on a plane when she was 41 weeks pregnant,” Mrs Sly said.
Her fiancé Tony was asleep when Audrey arrived.
“When I first woke up I thought, ‘This is the strangest dream ever,'” he said.
“Good morning, you’re dad.”
At least 17 people have died due to floods that inundated large areas of the lower state.
More than 2.2 million homes and businesses were without power, many of which remain without power days later.
The hurricane crossed Florida toward Orlando, about 180 kilometers northeast of landfall.
The county in which Orlando is located avoided widespread power outages, with about 5 percent of connections cut.
Two-thirds of homes and businesses were without power where the hurricane made landfall, and 20 percent of counties surrounding Orlando were without power.
