Readers saw photographs of the father holding his tiny newborn son and responded emotionally to Samuel's declaration that he would not give him up.
The fundraising campaign spread rapidly across social media.
Thousands donated.
Instead of raising the original target of roughly $60,000, the campaign eventually brought in more than half a million dollars.
The New Zealand Herald later reported that nearly 17,900 donors had contributed more than $500,000.
It was an extraordinary response to a family most donors had never met.
But while the world was celebrating Samuel's decision, Ruzan was experiencing the story very differently.
The Other Side of the Story
As international coverage grew, Ruzan faced intense criticism.
Many stories portrayed her as a mother who had simply rejected her child because he had Down syndrome.
Ruzan eventually spoke publicly.
She said she had experienced enormous fear and confusion immediately after Leo's birth.
In a statement reported by ABC News, she recalled seeing alarm among relatives and doctors and described hearing her son's diagnosis in a way that felt like a verdict.
She said she was recovering from childbirth, under stress and depression, and facing intense pressure.
She also disputed Samuel's claim that she had simply presented him with an ultimatum.
Whether every detail of their two accounts can be reconciled is impossible for outsiders to determine.
But later interviews from both parents provide important context.
Ruzan said she knew very little about Down syndrome at the time.
More troublingly, she said she had been given an extremely bleak picture of Leo's future.
A year later, she told ABC News that doctors had made her fear that Leo would have virtually no meaningful development.
Samuel similarly said Ruzan initially had little understanding of Down syndrome or of the possibilities available to children with the condition.
Fear filled the space where accurate information should have been.
And fear shaped the decisions that followed.
What Down Syndrome Actually Means
Down syndrome is a genetic condition associated with an extra copy of chromosome 21.
It can affect physical development, learning and health, but there is enormous variation among individuals with the condition.
A diagnosis does not provide a complete prediction of someone's future.
Children with Down syndrome can learn, communicate, develop relationships, attend school, participate in their communities and lead meaningful lives. Some may need significant support, while others become increasingly independent as they grow older.
This is one reason the information parents receive immediately following a diagnosis is so important.
When families receive outdated or catastrophically negative information, fear can overwhelm their ability to imagine a future with their child.
That appears to have been part of what happened to Ruzan.
Samuel's response was different.
He had already decided that whatever challenges existed, Leo was his child and he would raise him.
But the remarkable part of this story is that Ruzan's first decision was not necessarily her final one.
A Conversation Changes Everything
About three and a half weeks after Leo's birth, something changed.
According to Samuel's later account to ABC News, Ruzan contacted him through a friend.
The couple began talking through Skype.
Away from the hospital, away from the immediate shock surrounding Leo's diagnosis and with time to process what had happened, they were able to have a more candid conversation.
Eventually, Samuel agreed to meet her.
Ruzan then held Leo.
That moment helped transform the story.
The mother who had initially believed she could not raise her son began reconsidering everything.
Samuel later explained that Ruzan had previously had little understanding of what Down syndrome actually meant.
Once she began learning more — and once she was able to connect with Leo as her baby rather than viewing him primarily through a frightening diagnosis — her perspective changed.
Ruzan later described the emotional reunion with her son.