Baby Haiden was born on a cruise ship and spent two months in a hospital in Miami following his premature birth. He finally arrived in Ogden, Utah on board a flight equipped with his medical needs.
His parents, Chase and Emily Morgan, eagerly welcomed him along with a group of well-wishers. Baby Haiden was transported in an incubator and as the medical team disembarked the aircraft, the people cheered and help up their "welcome home" signs.
"Even a week ago we weren't sure if we were all going to be together," said baby Haiden's father, Chase Morgan who stressed how surreal the reunion was.
Chase and Emily were on board a seven-day Caribbean cruise in late August. Emily wasn't due to give birth until Dec. 19. The trip was approved by Emily's doctor. However, on Aug. 31, Emily started experiencing contractions. At first, the couple thought it was false labor, but after seeing blood, the onboard doctor advised that they were still 14 hours away from Puerto Rico's nearest port where she could give birth.
The early labor's cause was not clear, however. Health officials theorized it had something to do with dehydration. Emily gave birth prematurely to a one and half pound baby boy. Doctors said the baby wasn't expected to survive long. In Puerto Rico, the couple, together with their three-year-old daughter was transported to a hospital right away.
After a few days, baby Haiden was relocated to a Miami hospital. The Flight Med program at the University of Utah transported baby Haiden, the cruise ship's miracle baby, from the Miami hospital to Ogden for free after learning of the family's story.
"A lot of team members have been following the story since the beginning and wanted to be able to step in and do our part," said Colleen Connelly, the nursing director of AirMed. The company said that cross-country transports are rare, however, it's the only Utah program that can do the job.
Baby Haiden will spend a few weeks in an Ogden hospital and hopefully will be released before Christmas. The Morgans expressed that bringing their family home for Christmas is something that they can never repay the Utah program for.
