gültekin
02-13-2015, 10:35 AM
http://a.abcnews.com/images/Lifestyle/HT_samuel_forrest_3_sk_150205_v16x9_16x9_992.jpg
http://www.ryot.org/dad-refused-abandon-baby-syndrome-even-wife-threatened-divorce/920667
When a child in Armenia is born with Down syndrome parents can choose whether to keep the baby or place it for adoption.
“What happens when a baby like this is born here, they will tell you that you don’t have to keep them,” Samuel Forrest told ABC News.
Forest didn’t know about this little fact until he was given an ultimatum by his wife: give up the baby or she would get a divorce.
Forest chose his son Leo.
“They took me in see him and I looked at this guy and I said, he’s beautiful — he’s perfect and I’m absolutely keeping him,” Forest said.
One week later, he received divorce papers from his wife, who abandoned the baby because she was ashamed of his disorder.
Forest wrote that, “health professionals estimate that 98 percent of all Down syndrome babies born in Armenia are abandoned, every year. These abandoned babies are often placed in squalid orphanages, where they live and die, rejected and forgotten by society.”
Now, Forest has set up a GoFundMe page that will allow him and Leo to move back to his home in New Zealand where family are eager to meet the newborn baby boy.
With the help of strangers from all over the world, Forest has raised over $300,000 enough to help him and Leo start a new life together.
Some of the additional funds raised will be going to orphanages and programs in Armenia that houses abandoned babies with Down syndrome.
When Samuel Forrest of Armenia heard a baby crying from outside his wife's hospital room, he knew his life would change forever.
http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/dad-refuses-give-newborn-son-syndrome/story?id=28756025&cid=fb_wn
Not only had he become a father, but he would soon receive some unexpected news about his newborn son.
"This pediatrician walks out of the room with a little bundle -- that was Leo," Forrest said. "She had his face covered up and hospital authorities wouldn't let me see him or my wife. When the doctor came out, he said 'there’s a real problem with your son.'
Forrest followed doctors and nurses into a room where he'd finally get to meet his baby.
"When I walked into the room they all turned to me and said 'Leo has Down syndrome," he told ABC News. "I had a few moments of shock."
After the news had sunk in, Forrest held Leo for the very first time.
http://a.abcnews.com/images/Lifestyle/HT_samuel_forrest_1_sk_150205_4x3_992.jpg
When Samuel Forrest of Armenia heard a baby crying from outside his wife's hospital room, he knew his life would change forever.
Not only had he become a father, but he would soon receive some unexpected news about his newborn son.
"This pediatrician walks out of the room with a little bundle -- that was Leo," Forrest said. "She had his face covered up and hospital authorities wouldn't let me see him or my wife. When the doctor came out, he said 'there’s a real problem with your son.'
Down Syndrome: A Year of Grief and Joy
Forrest followed doctors and nurses into a room where he'd finally get to meet his baby.
"When I walked into the room they all turned to me and said 'Leo has Down syndrome," he told ABC News. "I had a few moments of shock."
After the news had sunk in, Forrest held Leo for the very first time.
"They took me in see him and I looked at this guy and I said, he's beautiful -- he's perfect and I'm absolutely keeping him."
Soon Forrest walked into his wife's hospital room with Leo in his arms.
Her reaction was unlike one he ever expected.
"I got the ultimatum right then," he said. "She told me if I kept him then we would get a divorce."
Attempts to reach the hospital for comment weren't immediately successful. The baby's mother, Ruzan Badalyan, told ABC News that she did have a child with Down syndrome and she has left her husband, who has the child, but she declined to elaborate.
Forrest, who's from Auckland, New Zealand, said he was completely unaware of the hospital practices in Armenia when it came to children.
"What happens when a baby like this is born here, they will tell you that you don’t have to keep them," he said. "My wife had already decided, so all of this was done behind my back."
Despite his wife's warnings, Forrest said he never had a doubt in his mind that he would hold onto his son.
One week after his birth, Leo's mom filed for divorce.
"It's not what I want," Forrest said. "I didn’t even have a chance to speak with her in privately about it."
Forrest, who works as a freelance business contractor, has plans for he and Leo to move to his native country of New Zealand where he said they'll receive support from loved ones.
In the meantime, he's enlisted for some help on his GoFundMe page titled "Bring Leo Home."
"This really came out of the blue for me," he said. "I don’t have a lot, I have very little in fact. The goal is to raise enough for a year so I can get a part-time job so Leo doesn't have to be in daycare and I can help care for him. He's lost a lot in two weeks. It'd be different if he had his mommy."
Forrest has recently been working with disability awareness groups to share his story in the hopes that parents will become better educated on children with special needs.
"After what I've been through with Leo, I'm not going to sit back and watch babies be sent to orphanages," he said. "As a child with Down syndrome, that becomes somewhat of a label. If we can get around this label, we’ll see that they’re normal. They’re a little different from us, but they’re still normal.
"They all have niches and I want to work hard to find out where Leo's special. This little guy is great."
http://www.ryot.org/dad-refused-abandon-baby-syndrome-even-wife-threatened-divorce/920667
When a child in Armenia is born with Down syndrome parents can choose whether to keep the baby or place it for adoption.
“What happens when a baby like this is born here, they will tell you that you don’t have to keep them,” Samuel Forrest told ABC News.
Forest didn’t know about this little fact until he was given an ultimatum by his wife: give up the baby or she would get a divorce.
Forest chose his son Leo.
“They took me in see him and I looked at this guy and I said, he’s beautiful — he’s perfect and I’m absolutely keeping him,” Forest said.
One week later, he received divorce papers from his wife, who abandoned the baby because she was ashamed of his disorder.
Forest wrote that, “health professionals estimate that 98 percent of all Down syndrome babies born in Armenia are abandoned, every year. These abandoned babies are often placed in squalid orphanages, where they live and die, rejected and forgotten by society.”
Now, Forest has set up a GoFundMe page that will allow him and Leo to move back to his home in New Zealand where family are eager to meet the newborn baby boy.
With the help of strangers from all over the world, Forest has raised over $300,000 enough to help him and Leo start a new life together.
Some of the additional funds raised will be going to orphanages and programs in Armenia that houses abandoned babies with Down syndrome.
When Samuel Forrest of Armenia heard a baby crying from outside his wife's hospital room, he knew his life would change forever.
http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/dad-refuses-give-newborn-son-syndrome/story?id=28756025&cid=fb_wn
Not only had he become a father, but he would soon receive some unexpected news about his newborn son.
"This pediatrician walks out of the room with a little bundle -- that was Leo," Forrest said. "She had his face covered up and hospital authorities wouldn't let me see him or my wife. When the doctor came out, he said 'there’s a real problem with your son.'
Forrest followed doctors and nurses into a room where he'd finally get to meet his baby.
"When I walked into the room they all turned to me and said 'Leo has Down syndrome," he told ABC News. "I had a few moments of shock."
After the news had sunk in, Forrest held Leo for the very first time.
http://a.abcnews.com/images/Lifestyle/HT_samuel_forrest_1_sk_150205_4x3_992.jpg
When Samuel Forrest of Armenia heard a baby crying from outside his wife's hospital room, he knew his life would change forever.
Not only had he become a father, but he would soon receive some unexpected news about his newborn son.
"This pediatrician walks out of the room with a little bundle -- that was Leo," Forrest said. "She had his face covered up and hospital authorities wouldn't let me see him or my wife. When the doctor came out, he said 'there’s a real problem with your son.'
Down Syndrome: A Year of Grief and Joy
Forrest followed doctors and nurses into a room where he'd finally get to meet his baby.
"When I walked into the room they all turned to me and said 'Leo has Down syndrome," he told ABC News. "I had a few moments of shock."
After the news had sunk in, Forrest held Leo for the very first time.
"They took me in see him and I looked at this guy and I said, he's beautiful -- he's perfect and I'm absolutely keeping him."
Soon Forrest walked into his wife's hospital room with Leo in his arms.
Her reaction was unlike one he ever expected.
"I got the ultimatum right then," he said. "She told me if I kept him then we would get a divorce."
Attempts to reach the hospital for comment weren't immediately successful. The baby's mother, Ruzan Badalyan, told ABC News that she did have a child with Down syndrome and she has left her husband, who has the child, but she declined to elaborate.
Forrest, who's from Auckland, New Zealand, said he was completely unaware of the hospital practices in Armenia when it came to children.
"What happens when a baby like this is born here, they will tell you that you don’t have to keep them," he said. "My wife had already decided, so all of this was done behind my back."
Despite his wife's warnings, Forrest said he never had a doubt in his mind that he would hold onto his son.
One week after his birth, Leo's mom filed for divorce.
"It's not what I want," Forrest said. "I didn’t even have a chance to speak with her in privately about it."
Forrest, who works as a freelance business contractor, has plans for he and Leo to move to his native country of New Zealand where he said they'll receive support from loved ones.
In the meantime, he's enlisted for some help on his GoFundMe page titled "Bring Leo Home."
"This really came out of the blue for me," he said. "I don’t have a lot, I have very little in fact. The goal is to raise enough for a year so I can get a part-time job so Leo doesn't have to be in daycare and I can help care for him. He's lost a lot in two weeks. It'd be different if he had his mommy."
Forrest has recently been working with disability awareness groups to share his story in the hopes that parents will become better educated on children with special needs.
"After what I've been through with Leo, I'm not going to sit back and watch babies be sent to orphanages," he said. "As a child with Down syndrome, that becomes somewhat of a label. If we can get around this label, we’ll see that they’re normal. They’re a little different from us, but they’re still normal.
"They all have niches and I want to work hard to find out where Leo's special. This little guy is great."