Baby 'Gammy' Turns 2: “He Brings Me So Much Joy”

Baby Grammy with his mother Chunbua. Photographed for WHO by Ben Lewin.

The mother of Baby Grammy (not "Gammy" as has been widely reported) tells WHO the boy has brought joy to her and the lives of her family.

And she wants him to meet his twin sister.

Last year, Grammy, who has Down syndrome, became the centre of an international surrogacy scandal when it emerged that David and Wendy Farnell, the Australian couple who commissioned Thai woman Pattaramon Chunbua to be their gestational carrier, rejected the baby and took home his “healthy” twin sister.

Grammy’s family are now about to celebrate his 2nd birthday.

“I never see mentally or physically that he is handicapped,” Chunbua tells WHO at her home in south-central Thailand. “It’s never been a hardship for me with Grammy. Since I have Grammy, I am blessed with luck.”

Baby Grammy "makes everyone laugh and smile," says his mother Chunbua. Photographed for WHO by Ben Lewin.

It was only after the birth of the twins in December, 2013 that Chunbua, who was paid $12,000 for the surrogacy, learned David Farnell was a convicted paedophile.

Grammy’s sister Pipah now lives in Bunbury, WA with the Farnells.

“I am very worried for my daughter,” says Chunbua, who has hung a picture of Pipah on the wall of her living room. “I always tell [Grammy] he has a sister. I want the brother and sister to meet.”

While the Farnells declined to speak to WHO for this story, the couple told Nine’s 60 Minutes last year they never “abandoned” Grammy, who was named after the Gramophone company for all the noise he made. Said David Farnell: “[The agency] said the surrogate mother wants this boy.”

Says Chunbua: “Grammy makes the home lively. He makes everyone laugh and smile.”

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