Because her family is too ashamed of the newborn’s condition, a grieving father has been forced to choose between his wife and his Down syndrome kid. In an Armenian hospital on January 21, Samuel Forrest’s wife Ruzan Badalyan gave birth to their first child, Leo. But, just hours after Leo was born, his New Zealand-born father received an ultimatum from his 18-month-old wife: either the lady he loved or his newborn son.

Due of Leo’s Down syndrome, his mother and family abandoned him soon after he was born. According to Samuel, his wife did not even look at or touch her kid because Armenian society believes that a child with a disease like Leo’s brings shame to the entire family. When Leo was born, Samuel claimed he wasn’t permitted to meet his kid or wife right away. ‘This pediatrician goes out of the room with a small bundle… He couldn’t see him or his wife because she had his face covered up,’ he told ABC News.

‘When the doctor arrived, he stated, ‘There’s a serious problem with your son.’Samuel claimed he was stunned when physicians told him Leo had Down syndrome, but it never occurred to him to abandon him. ‘They brought me in to see him, and I looked at him and said, he’s lovely, he’s wonderful, and I’m certainly keeping him,’ he explained. When he brought Leo in to meet his wife, she threatened to leave him if he didn’t give up their son.

‘When a baby like this is born here, they’ll tell you that you don’t have to keep them,’ he explained to ABC News. ‘My wife had already made her decision, so everything was done behind my back.’The first-time father is now frantically trying to acquire funds to leave the eastern European country and raise Leo in his native New Zealand. Bring Leo Home, the fundraising campaign, has already raised more than $100,000 in less than 24 hours.

The outpouring of love has left Samuel speechless. ‘Leo and I discovered in the early hours of the morning that we had exceeded our goal. He is extremely fortunate to have the support of thousands of friends all across the world,’ he said. The funds will be used to help Leo locate a home in Auckland and to provide educational possibilities. Samuel also intends to use some of the money to assist parents in Armenia who are parenting disabled children.

‘We’d also like to share any extra funds with Armenia’s only orphanage that takes abandoned Down syndrome kids on a regular basis, as well as other organizations that can support these youngsters,’ he said. Samuel and Leo’s initial objective was to gather enough money for a year so he could work part-time and care for his son.