The future of a disabled four-year-old Romanian girl who was to remain in Ireland for medical treatment was in doubt last night.
At the last minute the Romanian authorities changed their earlier decision to let Mihaela Porumbaru stay in Ireland and last night her foster mother, Mrs Briege Hughes, from Dundalk, was distraught.
The Romanian social worker who accompanied Mihaela to Ireland on more than one occasion, said last night the commission in charge of the orphanage where Mihaela lives was demanding she return to Romania at 6 a.m. today. Her foster family do not know what to do.
"I am worried that if I don't send her back, I will never see her again," said Mrs Hughes.
Yesterday afternoon, the social worker, Ms Elena Stancu, assured the family and local TD Mr Seamus Kirk that Mihaela could stay and meet consultants next month.
However, at teatime she returned to tell the family that Mihaela had to return with her on a flight to Romania this morning.
Mrs Hughes was told that Mihaela must return to Romania until the commission which oversees the orphanage in Dambovita, about 100 miles from Bucharest, meets on September 4th to decide if it will allow her return for medical care.
Mihaela was abandoned at birth after being crushed into a cardboard box outside a hospital in Bucharest.
Mrs Hughes believes that being forced into the box as a baby may have caused the spinal injuries that have left her paralysed from the waist down.
If she returns to Romania, she will most likely be sent to a psychiatric hospital for adults although she has no psychiatric or mental problems.
"I want her to stay here and get the treatment she needs. She has appointments to see a consultant paediatrician, orthopaedic surgeon, neurosurgeon and consultant urologist," said Mrs Hughes, who has started the process to adopt the girl.
Two years ago she founded the charity the Frank Hughes Memorial Foundation, named after her late husband, and drew up plans to build a 25-bedroom hospital in Dundalk for abandoned children. Fundraising for the venture is under way.
Mrs Hughes first saw the then two-year-old Mihaela on a visit to an orphanage where hundreds of abandoned children were placed by the authorities. She arranged the first of four visits to Ireland for the little girl.
Mihaela lives with Mrs Hughes and her five children in Newtownbalreagan, Dundalk. Her passport is stamped and authorises her to stay in Ireland until November.
However, on Saturday afternoon the Romanian social worker contacted Mrs Hughes and said the child had to return on Monday morning.
It was the intervention of local TD Mr Seamus Kirk, who contacted the Romanian authorities yesterday afternoon, that initially secured an assurance that Mihaela had an openended medical visa and could remain in Ireland.
Mr Kirk said there is a need to strengthen diplomatic links with Romania to avoid such situations in the future.
"We need to put specific diplomatic arrangements in place to aid and support families who are providing foster care for Romanian children.
"When I explained the situation about Mihaela needing urgent paediatric treatment to the representative of the foster agency they initially agreed to allow her stay on that basis."
Yesterday afternoon Mihaela smiled and used her step-family's mobile phone to tell her young Irish friends her good news. Last night she was glum.
Family friend Ms Niamh Phillips said: "There is no reason for her to go back to Romania, she is loved and looked after here and has achieved so much in the last two months here. She has put on weight, her body has healed and she wants to stay here."
Meanwhile fundraising is continuing for the hospital for abandoned Romanian children.
Mrs Hughes says she has two possible sites for it in the Dundalk area and will apply for planning permission shortly. She needs £1 million to build it. The operating costs will be about £15 million a year.
Donations can be made to the Bank of Ireland, Dundalk, account number: 24984489.