OUR EASTER MIRACLE
Local dad reunited with wife and baby Tomas after seven-month Kazakhstan saga:
SEVEN months after an international surrogacy saga ripped them apart, an overjoyed Andrew family has finally been reunited.
While John Andrew and his six-year-old son Nicolas have desparately waited at their Beech Forest home, baby Tomas and mum Zhanar have been stuck in Kazakhstan.
But the bureaucratic nightmare finally came to an end when mum and baby touched down early Thursday morning for an emotional reunion.
“It’s overwhelming,” Mr Andrew said.
Baby Tomas was born in Kazakhstan last August via surrogate. Since then, the family has faced hurdle after hurdle in getting him home to Australia.
Mrs Andrew, a Kazakh national with permanent Australian residency, and Mr Andrew, a fifth generation Australian and farmer, met about nine years ago, and have been married about seven years. Nicolas was born in Kazakhstan through IVF in 2012.
Mr and Mrs Andrew wanted a sibling for their child, and pursued surrogacy as they were unable to conceive.
Commercial surrogacy is legal in Kazakhstan. But getting baby Tomas home to Australia was no simple task.
Visa complications, DNA testing for Mr Andrew and Tomas, a successful citizenship by descent application, and various documentation that required Mrs Andrew to fly around Kazahkstan were all twists in the long-running saga.
The Addy revealed the family’s plight in January.
Nicolas and Mr Andrew had not seen Mrs Andrew and baby Tomas since they flew back to Australia for Nicolas to return to school in September.
Mr Andrew said the family found out it would be reunited about a week ago.
Mrs Andrew delivered the joyous news over the phone after being informed that Tomas’ emergency passport had been approved and was on its way to Kazakhstan from Moscow.
“It’s been phenomenal how she’s done it all,” Mr Andrew said.
“Dragging the baby around in freezing conditions ... it gives me tears when I think what she’s been through.”
The surrogacy saga has not only drained the family emotionally, but financially too, Mr Andrew said.
Nicolas’ mental condition was deteriorating as memories of his beloved mum began to fade. But when she snuck up on him at the airport Thursday morning, an elated Nicolas was “dumbstruck” and “nearly fainted”, Mr Andrew said.
Now they’re back home, Mr Andrew said the family had settled straight back into domestic life.
Mrs Andrew said she was thrilled the family could finally start their life together, and to be reunited with Nicolas.
After months of stress, heartache and uncertainty, Mr Andrew said the joy had surpassed all the frustration.
“You shed something that’s been inside you for such a long time,” he said. “There’s nothing like being home.”