Melbourne Dads Have A Message For Parents About A Deadly Disease

Melbourne-based dads Justin and Leigh Khoo are hoping to spread awareness about a deadly disease that babies can contract, after losing their son Owen, just one week after his first birthday. 

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Justin and Leigh had launched a very public legal battle to get approved for a surrogate baby. Their son Owen was born prematurely at 29 weeks in March 2022. Owen was diagnosed with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), which causes blindness from birth. 

The two dads documented their journey about starting a family and raising Owen on their Instagram page TwoDadsOneBaby.

‘Miracle Baby’

On March 19, the couple had a heartbreaking update after “one of the hardest weeks of our entire lives” – Owen,  dubbed the “miracle baby”, had passed away.

“Owen passed on after his massive fight against an aggressive strain of Meningococcal, causing meningitis and septic shock, passing on at Monash Children’s Hospital Clayton over a period of four days in hospital,” the dads posted on Instagram. 

“As a result of the infection and aftermath of the sepsis/inflammation to his tiny body, it ultimately caused severe brain damage, where Owen was not able to recover or sustain life with any treatment or medication thereon.”

“Dearest Owen, our beautiful little warrior, we love you so much. No words can ever explain the love that we have for you. We are sorry that this horrible tragic thing has happened to you. You were taken way too soon and we know you are looking down on us now,” the dads said. 

Get Vaccinated, Look For Signs

 

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A post shared by Justin & Leigh Khoo (@twodadsonebaby)

Earlier this week, the grieving dads sent out a message to other parents to create awareness about the deadly disease. They revealed that Owen had contracted the deadly W strain of the Meningococcal bacteria. 

“This strain is more deadly than the others and unfortunately is on the rise in case numbers. Babies in Australia can be vaccinated at 12 months of age for the A C W Y strains as per the National Immunisation Program Schedule,” the couple said. 

Owen could not be vaccinated on his first birthday as he had been born premature and had to wait for another three months. 

“We would encourage all parents to make themselves aware of the signs and symptoms and know that the rash doesn’t always appear. Owen didn’t have it and as scary as it was in Owens case it was very mild and then attacked in ways so quickly that we can’t fathom that we now face grieving his loss.”

“Always follow your gut instincts, seek professional help if in doubt and advocate for your children,” the dads said.

A Sibling For Owen

 

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A post shared by Justin & Leigh Khoo (@twodadsonebaby)

Justin and Leigh have started a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to have another baby and a sibling for Owen. 

“As gay parents and people, we have already faced incredible challenges in order to grow our family prior to Owen being born,” the couple said on the campaign page.

“Growing our family in love and honour of Owen, and our goal again to proceed through a surrogacy journey to have a sibling for Owen, would mean the world to us and our family. With funds raised, this will help us pay for surrogacy agency fee services, medical bills, unexpected/unplanned pregnancy associated costs, legal advice and paperwork review etc.”

“There is no expectation to donate to us, we just wanted to share with you all, that if you do just want to share this post with others and help Owen’s story create more awareness around Meningococcal and ROP blindness, we would appreciate this is so much,” the dads added.