One Twin Died, One Lived, And N.J. Parents Can't Leave Europe. Insurance Won't Let Them.

A New Jersey couple’s trip to Portugal was supposed to be the perfect getaway just before their twins’ births.

Instead, the babies were prematurely born, and one of them died while the family continues to be “stuck” in the country.

Now, four months later, just as the surviving twin recovers and they’re able to hug her for the first time, another obstacle has landed in their way:

The insurance company, they say, won’t let them fly home.

The father, Fred Spratt, told The Asbury Park Press that their baby has to be flown in a medical transport, but Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield has denied the couple’s request.

The company says it’s not a medical necessity because she can stay in Portugal and get treatment, he said.

Efforts to reach Highmark were unsuccessful, but the couple has filed an appeal. The APP report noted that Fred wasn’t afraid to point the finger of blame:

“I was on the phone with the insurance company ... Right now they are the villain. They’re the only thing stopping us from getting home.”

Kim Spratt of Jackson gave birth when she was 24 weeks pregnant to twins who weighed barely over 1 pound each. Kim and her husband, Fred, were then trapped in an intensive care unit for months, with all their family and friends back in the United States, according to a GoFundMe page set up for the family.

Spratt gave birth to her son, Hudson Charles Spratt, and his twin sister, Hayden Grace Spratt, on Mother’s Day. Hudson died on May 25, according to The Asbury Park Press and New York Daily News.

>>Related: N.J. Parents ‘Stuck’ In Europe After Premature Birth of Twins; One Baby Dies

The surviving infant was kept in a Lisbon hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit while tied to tubes, and was too unstable to touch, according to the reports.

On June 12, the couple held their daughter for the first time. And on Aug. 25 — the babies’ due date — Hayden was moved from an incubator to a bassinet, according to The Asbury Park Press.

Family and friends have been there, in spirit, using GoFundMe to provide support. As of Tuesday afternoon, the page raised more than $53,662.

The page noted that the couple is surrounded by people who don’t speak the same language, and they’re ”worried about the safety” of their child.

“We’re trapped here indefinitely,” Spratt said, according to the Daily News.

“The stress and now the financial burden of having to find a place to live for an indefinite amount of time in a foreign country with brand new twins is heavily weighing on them,” according to the GoFundMe page.

The page asks people to consider giving at least $5, which could help them make a phone call back home to their parents, doctors or help them find a place to live.

“Mom owns a business back home that doesn’t run without her so in addition to the unexpected expenses and living situation, her business won’t be making any money and the situation will be detrimental to it. ”

The Spratt’s GoFundMe page can be found here.

Photo: Kim and Fred Spratt, from GoFundMe