Parents, newborn son stuck abroad after baby was born 3 months early

FLORIANOPOLIS, Brazil (WCCO) - A Minnesota couple are desperately trying to get their son back to the United States after he was born three months prematurely during a trip to Brazil.

Cheri Phillips was roughly six months pregnant when she and her husband, Chris Phillips, went on a two-week trip to Brazil in February. Doctors had approved the travel, with the baby’s due date not until early June.

Two days before the couple were set to return home, Cheri Phillips was admitted to a Brazilian hospital with pregnancy complications. She was having contractions – nearly 6,000 miles from home.

The Phillips welcomed their first child, Greyson, into the world March 12. He weighed just... — The Phillips welcomed their first child, Greyson, into the world March 12. He weighed just over 2 pounds at birth and spent 51 days in intensive care before he was cleared to leave the hospital.(Source: Family photos, WCCO via CNN)

“I just thought I was sore,” Cheri Phillips said. “But in the middle of the night, I started bleeding.”

Eventually, it was determined she needed a C-section.

“It just became obvious that he was going to be born,” Chris Phillips said. “I was in the operating room with her, and it was terrifying.”

The Phillips welcomed their first child, Greyson, into the world March 12. He weighed just over 2 pounds at birth and immediately began having to fight for his life. Doctors resuscitated his heart and took him to the neonatal intensive care unit.

“It was terrifying, like, ‘Oh, my God,’” Cheri Phillips said. “I don’t speak the language [in Brazil]. I have no idea what’s going on half the time. It’s scary.”

After 51 days in intensive care, Greyson was cleared to go home.

The Phillips are desperately trying to get their son, Greyson, back to the United States after... — The Phillips are desperately trying to get their son, Greyson, back to the United States after he was born three months prematurely during a trip to Brazil.(Source: Family photos, WCCO via CNN)

Months later, the Phillips are still in Brazil, waiting for a judge to approve their son’s birth certificate. From there, the couple were told they have to take their newborn – still too small for a car seat – 300 miles away to the U.S Embassy in Brasilia to get a passport.

“Basically, we are caught in bureaucratic limbo,” Chris Phillips said. “What we need is for this story to be seen by somebody who can make real change happen and get us home. It takes one person to make the right call.”

Greyson, a miracle in his own right, and his parents are now seemingly in need of a miracle to start life back home in Minnesota as a family.

“To be home, in our house, with help – people to wash the dishes and hold him – would mean the world,” Cheri Phillips said.

The Phillips say they’ve been in contact with the office of U.S. Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota. The office said in a statement Tuesday that Smith is working with the embassy to eliminate the need to travel for a passport.

Still, the family is reliant on getting a birth certificate from the Brazilian government.

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