Babies are true blessings of life – they’re precious and should be cherished. Today’s story is from 2015 about a father who was elated and beyond happy when his newborn baby boy, Leo, was born. But, it was a different case with his wife, Ruzan, who wasn’t as excited. The baby was born with Down’s Syndrome, and the wife had a few problems accepting her baby.
The husband, Samuel Forrest, hails from New Zealand. But the couple were living in his wife’s home country, Armenia, at the time of Leo’s birth. While Samuel was over the moon at the birth of his son, he didn’t know his wife would have issues with Leo having Down’s Syndrome.
Samuel exclusively told ABC News why his wife reacted that way:
“Before this, she had no idea what Down syndrome really was, or that there was hope,”
“The doctors had told her Leo would never learn to walk, or talk or feed himself.”
His wife gave him an ultimatum to decide between Leo and her – Samuel chose his son and decided to move back to New Zealand. At the time, Samuel didn’t have enough funds to move his life back to New Zealand, so he decided to make a GoFundMe campaign named “Bring Leo Home.”
In a massive gesture of pure humanity, Samuel received an incredibly massive donation of about $500,000 from people all over the world who wanted to support the father. He told ABC:
“I woke up in the morning and it was rolling over like a speedometer,”
The loving father was finally able to move back to New Zealand with Leo.
Ruzan, finally coming to terms with what she’d done, joined her husband in New Zealand and finally embraced Leo with a mother’s love. Samuel told ABC the real reason why Ruzan acted the way she did:
“It was pretty clear that the main things were cultural and huge pressure. About three-and-half weeks later, Ruzan got in touch with me through a friend and we ended up having a candid conversation through Skype. I finally agreed to meet her and she held little Leo for the first time.”
And about how Ruzan is with Leo now, Samuel said:
“She’s adapted to Leo’s therapy programs and she’s turned out to be a wonderful mother,”
Ruzan also opened up about her feelings at the time and how much Leo means to her now:
“At first I was very, very scared because I didn’t know what Down syndrome was like. Doctors said he would be like a vegetable. It was very scary. I think I was also very selfish and then there was depression… all of that together.”
“I love him very much,”
“One year ago, I couldn’t imagine life with him and now, I can’t really imagine my life without him. He’s changed me so much. I can say I’m a different person now.”
We are very happy for the Forrester family – all’s well that ends well. We wish the family a happy and joyous life.
What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know in the comments below!
Sources:
Images & Featured Image Credits: Samuel & Ruzan Forrest via ABC News
