(NewsNation) — A U.S. couple is now safe in Poland, but eager to come back to Colorado, after making the trek to war-torn Ukraine to bring their newborn daughter home, only to be accused of kidnapping her at the Polish border.
It was a harrowing journey — the baby girl, Evelyn, was born to a surrogate days after the Russian attacks on Ukraine started.
Byron said a year and a half ago when they were considering surrogacy, the couple, who preferred their last names not be used for safety, never anticipated the conflict in Ukraine. When it started on Feb. 24, Allison and Byron became glued to the TV, watching for news coming out of the country.
The surrogate mother ended up giving birth to Evelyn March 7. While in the hospital, she had to go to the basement while bombs were going off.
“It was just heartbreaking for us to know that she was going through this for us,” Allison said.
It wasn’t an option for the baby to be brought to Allison and Byron in the U.S., so their original plan was to stay in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, when Evelyn was born until their paperwork was processed.
But with the war came complications getting that documentation.
“It was impossible to get the paperwork that they needed because the hospital wasn’t issuing anything,” Allison said. “They didn’t even have notaries working.”
According to the Denver Post, the couple had used a surrogacy-related organization called Growing Families, that sent a driver to Kyiv to pick up Evelyn and her nanny to take them to the Polish border to meet Allison and Byron.
When Allison and Byron arrived at the border, they crossed into Ukraine and retrieved their daughter. But then, guards accused the couple of trying to kidnap baby Evelyn and told them to leave at gunpoint, the Denver Post reported.
“It was terrifying,” Allison said on NewsNation’s “Morning in America.” “Instead of calling the police and having us escorted to jail, they pretty much said go back to Ukraine and just left us on the street.”
Luckily, Byron said, the embassies were very helpful in providing them guidance and advice.
“We eventually did manage to get across that evening. It took roughly 12 hours,” Byron said.
Now in Poland, things have gotten much calmer for the couple and their baby.
“She’s a dream. She’s absolutely wonderful,” Allison said. “She’s just perfect. We could not be happier.”
For any other parents out there also working to get their kids out of Ukraine, there are several resources, such as Growing Families, the U.S. Welcome Center for American in Poland, the American Citizen Services at the US Embassy in Poland and the American Citizen Services at US Embassy in Ukraine.
