When McKenna West went rogue and fled to another state, she did more than break her contract.
By giving birth in Texas, the renegade gestational carrier signed the child up for a series of invasive procedures.
The baby, whose name is Rumi, underwent only the first of the open-heart surgeries.
Now, the newborn’s health is declining. The baby is in critical condition.
Rumi ‘is in critical condition’ after his first major surgery
TMZ obtained court documents pertaining to baby Rumi’s health.
Rumi’s parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, are currently battling with McKenna West over custody of their child.
At present, they have custody over their newborn.
McKenna has continued to fight, but there is a temporary restraining order against her. They have custody until a future hearing.
Unfortunately, it is in the context of this recent filing that we learn about Rumi’s sad health update.
Rumi underwent the Norwood Procedure, the first of three open-heart surgeries that could give him a chance — but not a guarantee — at reaching adulthood.
In the past 24 hours, his health has taken a dire turn.
“Serious medical developments have arisen that impact the health and safety of the child,” the parents’ filing reports.
The legal filing adds: “The child is in critical condition and being closely monitored at the hospital.”
Things are sounding grim.
Rumi’s ‘condition declined significantly’
According to the filing by Rumi’s parents, their newborn is “suffering from potential complications from the Norwood.”
The court documents reported: “Last night, the child’s condition declined significantly.”
Apparently, Rumi’s decline was so severe that doctors determined that he was “requiring re-intubation.”
Intubation is when a hose is placed through the mouth or nose to facilitate breathing, because a person is not getting enough oxygen on their own. There can be numerous causes.
In baby Rumi’s case, it seems to be a side-effect of having undergone a catastrophically traumatic open-heart surgery just days after being born. But that is when the Norwood Procedure must happen — if it happens at all.
Remember, McKenna West was a hired gestational carrier (colloquially referred to as a surrogate) for Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed.
When they learned that the fetus would be born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Simply put, it is a malformed heart that would lead to death without a series of drastic surgical interventions.
When the parents chose to terminate, West went rogue, violating he contract and leaving for another state to give birth. (No state could “force” her to abide by the contract, but she hoped that Texas law might award her custody.)
(Side note, but some outlets are referring to Rumi as “Gabriel,” which is a little confusing. That is not his name. West called him that, but she is not his parent. If Rumi lives long enough, he can call himself whatever he likes, but Rumi is his name until that time.)
This filing in court is to ask the court to postpone the scheduled hearing. Simply put, their family is suffering in a way that they never intended, and they’re preoccupied with their newborn’s health and would like to hold off having to go to court with the woman who put them all in this predicament.