TITUSVILLE, Fla. – Lisa Barber, the aunt of a premature baby born during a Southwest flight to Orlando earlier this month, says baby Jet has faced some obstacles this month, but is still doing well.
"He has had a few setbacks, as all preemies do, but he reached a big milestone yesterday by finally getting his breathing tube out," Barber said.
[Read more about baby Jet's story here]
Instead of the breathing tube, Jet's aunt said he is now receiving oxygen through a CPAP. Although the CPAP covers the baby's mouth, Barber said it is still much less cumbersome than his oxygen tube.
Since baby Jet has had the oxygen tube removed, his aunt told News 6 that his mother is excited to be able to hold him more.
Jet has continued to use a feeding tube and is expected to keep using it for "quite some time," according to Barber.
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Barber said the family is still expecting baby Jet's hospital stay to last until March, around his actual due date. She said that as of right now, Jet's mother is still staying with him while he is treated at an out-of state hospital, and that once transferring Jet to a hospital closer to home is an option, they will look into it.
The family's medical costs have continued to grow since Jet's birth on Dec 4., with insurance not covering a number of different costs.
"The information they have right now, though, is that insurance will not pay for transporting him back here, and also they may not pay for the hospital stay here in Orlando even if my sister and her husband pay for the transportation out of pocket," Barber said.
Jet's family has continued to work with their case manager, taking her advice of "taking it one day at a time."
Donations to help Jet's family with their growing medical costs are still being accepted through the GoFundMe account Barber set up for them.
Barber said the overall support they have received already is amazing and so generous and thoughtful.
"There have been so many people praying. It is truly heartwarming," Barber said.