For nearly a decade, a Russian couple believed their infant son was dead. Instead, they discovered the child is alive; an "administrative mix-up" led to miscommunication.
In 2011, the couple, who live in Volgograd, were told by their doctor that their newborn boy would die within the week, The Independent reported. Believing that their time with him was coming to a close, the parents made the difficult decision of signing over their baby to the hospital.
Five days later the couple returned to reclaim their child. But hospital officials told them the boy had already died.
Seven years went by and the couple learned in a rather disturbing manner that there had been a miscommunication of information.
Russia’s Federal Bailiff Service seized a substantial amount of money from the mother’s bank account. When she questioned the move, she was told that she owed 230,000 rubles, which is just over $4,000, to a child care home. She was told the home had raised her son since his birth.
“It became clear that the married couple had been assured for all this time that the child was dead,” explained a spokesman for the bailiff service. “The parents, so unexpectedly aware of the ‘resurrection’ of their baby, immediately appealed to the court for the restoration of parental rights.”
The couple were able to restore their rights in November. They said that the final result of the ordeal “a gift from fate.”
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