Samuel Forrest; gofundme.com/bringleohome
Samuel Forrest was faced with one of the worst ultimatums you could ever imagine.
The new dad was filled with glee when he heard the cry of a baby coming from his wife's hospital room in Armenia last month, but unfortunately, the doctor had some bad news.
"This pediatrician walks out of the room with a little bundle—that was Leo," Forrest told ABC News. "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.'
"When I walked into the room they all turned to me and said, 'Leo has Down syndrome," he revealed. "I had a few moments of shock."
But what followed is what was even more shocking—Ruzan Badalyan, Forrest's wife and Leo's mom, didn't want her son any more, and she made Samuel choose between them.
"They took me in to see him and I looked at this guy and I said, 'He's beautiful—he's perfect and I'm absolutely keeping him'." However, when he walked into his wife's hospital room, she had a very different reaction. "I got the ultimatum right then," he said. "She told me if I kept him then we would get a divorce."
For those of you scratching your head and wondering why they're using the word "keep," it's because Armenia has certain hospital practices when it comes to children—practices that Forrest, who's from Auckland, New Zealand, was completely unaware of.
"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."
Forrest chose his son, and one week after Leo's birth, his wife filed for divorce.
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.
"It's not what I want," Forrest said. "I didn't even have a chance to speak with her in privately about it."
Samuel plans to take Leo back with him to New Zealand to help get proper care with the help of loved ones, but he was understandably worried about fulfilling his duties as a newly single dad and his job as a business contractor, so he set up a GoFundMe page to try and raise enough money to help them for a year.
"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."
But the amount of money raised was far beyond what Forrest could have ever hoped for. The original goal was to reach $60,000 and as of Friday afternoon, they've reached close to $400,000!
Forrest posted the following statement on the page as a thank-you and an update on what he plans to do with the extra money:
Thanks everyone – we are stunned beyond words at the incredible support & love you've shown for little Leo.
9 days after we started our campaign, Leo and I found out in the wee hours of morning that we had crossed our target! He is a lucky guy to have the support of thousands of friends like you around the world.
Some of the additional funds that we have raised will be used to secure better living conditions in Auckland, and to give Leo higher quality opportunities when it comes to education – a good home and school cost money, but Leo will have all that and more, thanks to you.
We will use some of the money you've given to fund facilities and programs here in Armenia that will support future parents to keep their kids despite all disabilities, and to help better care for the special ones who end up away from their Mom & Dad. We'd also like to share the surplus funds with the only orphanage in Armenia that regularly takes abandoned Down Syndrome babies as well as other organisations that can help these children – thanks to your support we can start to make a difference already
Thanks again for your care and generosity!
If you would like to make a donation, you can do so here.