Many people are still suspicious of the IVF procedure. There are many imaginary fears. But still one of them sometimes turns out to be justified. For example, in the case of our heroes – a couple who for several months raised … not their child.
Alexander Cardinale and his wife Daphne, 40-year-old residents of Los Angeles, sued the clinic where they underwent the IVF procedure. The fact is that doctors confused their embryo with the embryo of another couple – and other people’s children were born in two families.
The fact that something was wrong, Alexander thought when he first saw a newborn daughter who was not like any of their family. But since Daphne decided that this did not mean anything, the suspicions were forgotten for a while. Exactly until the people around began to point out to the parents that the girl is very different from them.
And then they got a call from the clinic and asked to take a picture of the child
After that, events developed rapidly. Daphne did a DNA test, which showed that the 2-month-old girl is not their daughter. And the clinic, under pressure from the couple’s lawyer, admitted that their real daughter was born and is growing up in another family.
“We were shown a photo of our daughter and it was a beautiful blond child. It was said that her name was Zoe, – Alexander recalls. “And it broke my heart. Somewhere out there I had a little daughter, Zoe, whose existence I did not even suspect.
After some time, the Cardinale met with the second couple. They began to visit them regularly, even periodically “changing” children. And when Zoya was almost 4 months old, they took her home completely.
The incident had a profound effect on all family members.
According to Daphne, she and Alexander lost a year of their daughter’s life – including the time that the woman was pregnant with someone else’s child. “I was not pregnant with her, did not give birth to her. We did not see her birth, did not hug her in the first seconds of her life. And we missed her first months.”
Olivia, their 7-year-old daughter, was particularly traumatized by the medical error. The parents had to explain to the girl that the sister whom she had already fallen in love with, whom she had taken care of, was not really her sister. And that it had to be given to other people. “Because of this, she moved away from us a little,” Alexander emphasized. “She doesn’t let us hug or kiss her anymore.”
Alexander and Daphne feel overwhelmed and are still afraid that someone will come and take their daughter. But their life is gradually becoming happier. So, they try to maintain a close relationship with a couple who are raising a second girl – and spend all the holidays together.