John Kan and Rachel Evans from Sydney, Australia, thought they had prepared themselves well for a holiday to Vancouver; they bought extra travel insurance and covered Rachel’s pregnancy even though she was several weeks from being full-term. What they didn’t know, however, was that their insurance policy didn’t cover the baby or the birth. When Rachel went into premature labor in the airport, she was rushed to the hospital in Vancouver, where her daughter Piper was born 13 weeks early.

Because of the myriad complications that can arise in a baby so small, the family had a lengthy stay at the hospital and racked up a bill which totaled over a million dollars.

They have worked out a payment plan with the hospital, but at $300 a month, it will take them roughly 278 years to pay off. Australia’s Foreign Ministry has launched an investigation to see if there is anything they can do towards the astronomical bill, but the proud parents say they are just happy to have a healthy baby girl.

“We don’t feel our mistake was someone else’s responsibility, but obviously it is quite a large amount so any assistance we can get would be helpful,” Evans said.

While the outrageous hospital bill is quite a story–Evans says the only winner is their private insurance company, who got out of paying such an exorbitant amount–perhaps the real story is Piper’s, who survived mainly because her mother went into labor in the airport after their flight was delayed. Had Evans and Kan been in the air with an on-time flight, Piper wouldn’t have made it.

Video of the CBC news report can be seen here.