HIS WIFE ABANDONED HER HUBAND AND BABY WITH DOWN SYNDROME, AS THE FATHER HAD REFUSED TO LEAVE HIS SON
Samuel and Ruzan Forrest were living in Armenia, as they had welcomed their son, Leo, who was born with Down Syndrome, in 2015. The condition of Leo was undetected, until he was born.
37-year-old father, Samuel, wanted to create a safe environment for his son, as he wanted him to have a normal life.
“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,’” Samuel said.
Sadly, his wife, Ruzan had other ideas. She wanted to gave away her son, as she didn’t wanted Leo, who was born with Down Syndrome.
Samuel was shocked with the decision of his wife, and wanted to move back to his own country, New Zealand, so his son would be accepted by his family.
“It was pretty clear that the main things were cultural and huge pressure,” he said.
“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.” Samuel added.
“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.”
As Samuel had shared his story online, people had gathered and created a GoFundMe page for the family with the name, “Bring Leo Home,” which raised $500,000.
As they had reconnected, Ruzan had agreed to raise and care for her son, and moved to New Zealand to be with her family.
“She’s adapted to Leo’s therapy programs and she’s turned out to be a wonderful mother,”
“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…[it was] all of that together.” Ruzan said to a news outlet.
“I love him [Leo] 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.”
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