She Went to the Dominican Republic After a Devastating Pregnancy Loss, Then a Chance Meeting With a Haitian Teen Changed Her Family’s Future

In a first-person essay for Love What Matters, immigration attorney Jaci Ohayon described how an unexpected pregnancy disrupted her life while she and her husband were raising two children. Although the pregnancy initially surprised the couple, she wrote that they gradually embraced the possibility of welcoming another child. That hope disappeared when doctors diagnosed an ectopic pregnancy, turning the unexpected development into a medical emergency.

In a separate account published shortly before her longer story, Ohayon described the IUD failure and the medical tests that led to her diagnosis. She recounted how uncertainty about the pregnancy eventually gave way to the realization that it could not continue. The experience became the beginning of a difficult period that would affect her family life, her professional ambitions, and her plans for the future.

The Treatment Saved Her Life, but the Pregnancy Could Not Continue

Ohayon wrote that her doctor treated the ectopic pregnancy with an injection she described as chemotherapy. The National Health Service explains that ectopic pregnancies develop outside the womb and can become life-threatening, with treatment sometimes involving medication or surgery. Her account describes a medical crisis in which protecting her life took precedence over the pregnancy she and her husband had begun to imagine.

The physical aftermath was painful, according to her recollection, and the emotional consequences lasted well beyond the immediate treatment. She described losing her hair and spending weeks grieving the baby she would never hold. The loss affected her family as well, leaving them to adjust to a future that suddenly looked different from the one they had anticipated.

A Difficult Asylum Case Deepened the Crisis

Pregnancy loss was not the only challenge confronting Ohayon during this period. She said she had taken leave from her work as a United States immigration attorney following a particularly distressing asylum trial. The experience had left her questioning how she could continue working in a field where she witnessed human suffering and sometimes felt unable to secure the help people needed.

Her professional frustration and personal grief overlapped, creating a period of uncertainty about what she should do next. Her account does not present these experiences as separate problems with simple solutions. Instead, she described feeling overwhelmed by both her own loss and the difficulties she had encountered while trying to help others through the legal system.

A Trip to the Dominican Republic Offered a Chance to Reconsider Her Future

Ohayon eventually went to the Dominican Republic, where she taught English and waited tables while trying to recover from the events that had shaken her life. She described spending time near the beach and questioning whether she would return to practicing law. Her husband believed she would eventually find her way back to her profession, although she was less certain at the time.

The precise year of the family’s first encounter with the boy is not consistent across published accounts. A 2020 version of Ohayon’s story published by Newsner dates the family’s trip to 2017, while a later report places the encounter in 2016. Neither account resolves the discrepancy, so the precise year remains uncertain even though the broader sequence of events is clear.

A Beach Lunch Introduced Her to a Boy Who Would Become Family

During a family lunch, Ohayon noticed a boy throwing his flip-flops into the sea and swimming after them. When he returned to shore, the family invited him to share their pizza. They initially tried speaking with him in Spanish, then switched to French when they realized he could understand that language.

The encounter did not begin with a plan to take the boy into their home or bring him to the United States. It began with an ordinary meal and a conversation between people whose lives were very different. Over the following months, the boy continued spending time with the family, joining activities with their children and sharing meals when circumstances allowed.

The Boy Was Working Instead of Attending School

Ohayon’s account described the boy as a shoeshiner who earned money by cleaning people’s shoes. She also noted that his clothes and footwear often did not fit properly. Because he had never attended school, the family tried to help him with basic mathematics and arranged regular French tutoring.

Communication required flexibility because the boy’s first language was Haitian Creole, while the family primarily spoke English. They used a mixture of French, Spanish, and gestures to understand one another. Although their conversations were not always straightforward, these repeated interactions helped the family learn more about him and his circumstances.

His Mother Asked the Family to Give Him a Different Future

Eventually, the boy’s mother approached Ohayon with a small bag of clothing and a toothbrush. She asked the family to take him in and help him build a future, according to Ohayon’s account. The request confronted Ohayon with a responsibility she had not expected when she first met him on the beach.

Her initial response was no. She understood that bringing a child into her household would involve more than affection, particularly when his education, documentation, and long-term future remained uncertain. Yet she later acknowledged that her emotional attachment to him had already made the possibility of walking away increasingly difficult.

An Initial Refusal Became a Temporary Commitment

In a later interview, Ohayon described discussing the situation with her husband before they agreed to let the boy live with them in the Dominican Republic for approximately six months. During that period, they arranged for him to attend school. He also continued visiting his mother on weekends, maintaining contact with his birth family while living with the Ohayons.

The arrangement offered a practical starting point without immediately resolving the question of his future. Eventually, the family had to return to Colorado, leaving the boy behind temporarily. Ohayon said they had grown attached to him and that she intended to find a way for him to continue his education in the United States.

Finding a School Became Another Major Challenge

In an earlier account published by Love What Matters, Ohayon described visiting multiple schools in the Dominican Republic while searching for somewhere that would enroll the boy. She said several schools refused to accept him, with his Haitian nationality and inability to read or write forming part of the difficulties she encountered. He eventually began attending a Haitian school.

His early educational progress required considerable effort. According to Ohayon, he received tutoring in French and spent additional time practicing mathematics and beginner reading skills. The experience showed how much he needed to learn before he could comfortably participate in a conventional classroom, but he continued working toward that goal.

A School Offered a Possible Route to the United States

Ohayon’s background in immigration law helped her understand the obstacles involved in bringing the boy to the United States for education. She continued looking for a way forward and eventually found a private school willing to sponsor a student visa, according to later reporting. The arrangement required additional paperwork and cooperation from people who could help navigate the process.

The first visa application was rejected, the later report said. Ohayon then sought assistance from a congressman and a senator, and a subsequent application was approved. The outcome made it possible for the boy to travel to Colorado, although obtaining the necessary permission was only one part of the larger challenge facing the family.

Colorado Presented a Different Set of Obstacles

The boy arrived in Colorado during the middle of winter, leaving behind the Caribbean environment of the Dominican Republic. Ohayon wrote that he could not read, write, or speak English when he arrived in the United States. Access to a school offered new opportunities, but he first had to navigate a language and educational system that were unfamiliar to him.

A later interview reported that he sometimes hid behind curtains or under furniture while adjusting to his new surroundings. Ohayon connected this behavior to his earlier experiences of being rejected and driven away by others. His adjustment was gradual, requiring continued support as he became accustomed to living with the family and studying in a new environment.

The Relationship Did Not Result in a Legal Adoption

Although Ohayon frequently describes the young man as her son, a 2024 report by The Epoch Times makes an important distinction: the couple did not legally adopt him. The report says they served as his guardians in the United States while he maintained relationships with his mother and other family members. Their role centered on helping him access education and build a future without erasing the family he already had.

That distinction adds important context to the story. The boy’s mother remained part of his life, even as the Ohayons took on substantial responsibility for his care and education. Their relationship developed through an effort to support his future rather than through a formal adoption that replaced his existing family relationships.

Years of Work Led to College and New Ambitions

By the time of the later reporting, the young man had made substantial educational progress. Ohayon described him as studying business and engineering in college while attending a soccer academy. She said he hoped to play professionally, an ambition that gave him another goal alongside his education.

The progress represented a significant change from his circumstances before meeting the family. He had begun learning basic academic skills after having no formal schooling, then advanced through the educational system in the United States. Ohayon also spoke about his determination to succeed and his hope that future opportunities could improve circumstances for himself and his relatives.

A Later Update Showed That His Next Chapter Was Still Unfolding

In a later public post on her LinkedIn page, Ohayon said she was helping him revise his résumé as he searched for employment. She reported that he had earned a United States high school diploma, completed two years of college education, and spoke English, Spanish, French, and Haitian Creole. She also described his work experience in restaurants, resorts, banquet events, and coaching children’s soccer.

The post said he was looking for a position that could provide housing and a sense of community, and Ohayon asked her professional network to help identify opportunities. She also noted that he did not need visa sponsorship at that time. The update did not establish whether he subsequently found a job, but it showed that he was continuing to work toward independence beyond his academic and soccer goals.

Helping Him Renewed Ohayon’s Commitment to Immigration Law

Ohayon’s account connects her relationship with the young man to her eventual return to immigration law. She said helping him had reminded her that individual efforts could make a meaningful difference, even when broader systems appeared difficult to change. Her renewed professional direction eventually included an emphasis on human rights, immigration, and helping people navigate international mobility.

Ohayon later described living near Geneva and developing her United States-based legal practice in Europe. Her professional background is also reflected in the Geneva bar association’s directory, which lists her under AVA Legal. The professional path she once questioned had become an important part of her life again, although the experience did not eliminate the grief she had carried.

The Loss of the Pregnancy Remains Part of Her Story

Even after describing the relationship with the boy and the changes that followed, Ohayon wrote that she still grieves the baby she never held. She did not present the later relationship as proof that the pregnancy loss no longer mattered. Instead, her account holds the sorrow of that experience alongside her gratitude for the life and family relationships that developed afterward.

That distinction matters because the boy was not simply a replacement for the baby she lost. He had his own mother, relatives, experiences, and ambitions before he met the Ohayons. Their relationship grew into a lasting commitment to supporting his education and future while recognizing that his original family remained important.

A Chance Meeting Changed the Direction of Two Lives

Ohayon’s story began with a medical emergency and a period in which she questioned both her personal future and her career. Her trip to the Dominican Republic brought her into contact with a Haitian boy whose circumstances prompted her family to take on responsibilities they had not anticipated. What followed included educational barriers, a rejected visa application, a move to Colorado, and years of work toward a different future.

The later accounts show progress without suggesting that every difficulty has disappeared. The young man continued pursuing education, soccer, and employment opportunities, while Ohayon returned to a career she had once considered leaving behind. Her story ultimately describes how an unexpected relationship became a lasting part of her family’s life, even as the grief that preceded it remained part of her own.