A heartbroken Dublin dad “cried the whole plane journey home”, after he had to leave his surrogate triplets in Kenya
After having to leave his surrogate triplets in Kenya, a heartbroken Dublin father “cried the entire aircraft ride home.”
Edward O’Reilly, a Santry Cross resident, departed the African country with just the birth certificates for his three newborn daughters. Briella, Camilla, and Renesmee were born on September 1, over two months early. Four days later, Edward and his partner flew over to pick up their children.
They paid €50,000 for a surrogacy service and were informed that all expenses would be covered in the initial payment. When they arrived, they were asked for an additional €16,000 payment. They were then requested to pay an additional €12,000 in hospital costs for the infants’ medicine and feeding, as well as an additional €11,000 to compensate the physicians. They are unable to bring their daughters home until these expenses are met.
“It feels like a nightmare.” “We wanted to be parents, and now that we are, we are not allowed to have our babies,” Edward explained.
“We always knew we were going to be a family from the start.” We discussed having a child on our first date, and we’ve been together for six years.
“We eventually started calling agencies in March.” We believed we could do it and afford it. Our family members were eager to assist and contributed a few dollars.
“We discovered this agency in Kenya in August 2021.” We travelled abroad that October, and everything seemed to go pretty smoothly. Everything was going according to plan; the clinic was extremely beautiful; and everything appeared to be in order. “We discovered we were pregnant in March.” “When we found out it was triplets in June, we were overjoyed,” Edward said.
“However, we were aware that there may be health concerns during the pregnancy.” Throughout those months, we prayed every day for the surrogate and her well-being.
On the final day of August, Edward and his girlfriend received a phone call informing them that their baby would be born the next day. They had no Kenyan visas or flights scheduled at the time, but were allowed to depart on September 5. Because our flight was delayed, we arrived late at night. We couldn’t see the infants at that time, so we slept in a motel and were picked up by the agency at 9 a.m., Edward explained.
“We assumed we were going to see the kids right away because we brought baby seats with us.” We were so pleased that we had everything ready to clothe them.
“We were immediately solicited for additional money.” Alarm bells began to ring in my brain, and I had no idea what was going on. They demanded an additional €16,000 that was not included in the contract. There were also additional medical expenses.
“I asked if we could discuss it later because I just wanted to see my children.” We were still waiting for them at 2 p.m. “My intention was to view the infants, but they knew we wouldn’t pay the extra money and dumped us off on the side of the road.”
“We were in a different city and had no idea which hospital the children were in.” We’d have to go a mile and a half with two large luggage and three baby seats each.”
The couple had to spend many hours determining which hospital the babies were born in since the agency refused to inform them without payment. “We eventually worked it out, and when we saw them, we were stunned,” Edward explained. “My infants had tubes all over the place.” Camilla, in particular, needs extra oxygen. She was the size of our two palms. We didn’t believe she would make it.
“We found out in the following days that the hospital costs were not covered.” Because the kids were so premature and had so many difficulties, they had to stay in the hospital for weeks. I went to the Irish Embassy and begged for aid, but nothing came of it. “
Edward took the difficult decision to return to Ireland because he felt he could gather funds more quickly here. His children are now 50 days old, and the costs are piling up, so he created a Go Fund Me page.
“I recall kissing them goodbye and telling them how much I loved them.” “I’m not sure when I’ll be returning,” he remarked. “It was a difficult decision.” I wept the whole plane ride back. If I had stayed in Kenya, I would never have been able to gather the funds to bring the children home.
“As soon as I get the money, I’m hopping on a plane to pick up my kids and return home.” It was heartbreaking to leave with just three birth certificates. I should’ve had my three children. “I can’t put into words how I feel.”
You may contribute to the https://gofund.me/58c92147
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