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“Please help bring our triplets home. After 9 years of praying and waiting, we received a miracle times three this past May. Our babies, Elias, Ana, and David, born at 30 weeks, were the first triplets born at Texas Health Alliance. They spent 6 weeks in the NICU there and the NICU nurses that took care of our babies became family! Every, ‘it’s going to be okay’, every milestone celebrated, and every word of encouragement meant so much. The day we were able to bring our babies home was such a blessing and we were so excited to start making memories as a family.
At the end of October, all three babies got sick, but baby David just couldn’t get better. He kept throwing up, couldn’t hold down his formula. I took him to the ER multiple times, receiving the same answers, that it was a virus, to give him pedialyte and nausea meds. A head CT and chest X-rays were done and we were told everything was normal. They mentioned David’s white blood cell count was elevated, but not too much so it wasn’t concerning for them since he had a virus. Later in the week, he became lethargic and he was rushed by ambulance to our local children’s hospital. The neurologist told us David had a condition called BESSI (which they had failed to tell us when they had done the head CT the week before when we were there).
We were told there was fluid build up in David’s head. A spinal tap was then done and found traces of blood (which can be caused by infection or the needle poking blood vessels during the tap), but the hospital automatically suspected abuse. CPS was called and the child abuse pediatrician’s team (the CARE team) was brought in to investigate.
We continued to tell hospital staff and doctors that we did not abuse our child. He had no marks, no bruises, no fractures, etc. Absolutely nothing indicative of any possible “abuse”.
David’s eyes were checked by the CARE team’s ophthalmologist and retinal hemorrhages were found. David had been diagnosed with Retinopathy of Prematurity, but that wasn’t sufficient for the CARE Team or other doctors to consider anything different than physical abuse.
Skeletal surveys were completed on our other two babies as well and there were no findings of abuse, but the hospital’s CARE Team continued to say that David’s “injuries” could only be caused by non accidental head trauma (Shaken Baby Syndrome).
Our triplets were removed by CPS and placed in foster care. Initially, we were only able to see them once a week. We soaked up every minute of being with them and leaving them each time got harder and harder.
Ironically, I was actually a CPS worker and due to the CPS investigation I lost my job.
David underwent surgeries to release pressure from the fluid build up. While in foster care (not placed with family regardless of the extensive support system that we have), our babies had a follow up appointment with the CARE Team. David had fluid building up in his head again and had a leak from the original incision. Elias and Ana had lost weight while in foster care so at that point they decided to place our children with family. David was admitted into the hospital where he spent over 3 weeks due to a bacterial infection and needing additional surgeries.
Looking for answers, knowing something medically was going on with David, we requested our children’s medical records from the accusing hospital, but were told they needed “approval” to get them released to us. Once we finally received the records, they were incomplete for David, making it very difficult for us to obtain a second medical opinion.
In January, David had appointments with an ophthalmologist and nephrologist at our accusing children’s hospital. Originally, they had said the “abuse” was so severe that the optic nerves were damaged and that David would most likely end up blind. Well, the ophthalmologist informed us that David’s eyes are perfect and healthy!! It turned out that the ophthalmologist had not been aware originally that David was a 30 week preemie who had been diagnosed with Retinopathy of Prematurity.
They had also originally said that David’s high blood pressure was due to “abuse”, but at the nephrologist appointment we were told it was because he was a preemie and his kidneys are not fully developed.
All of that combined with the BESSI diagnosis, should be more than enough to file a motion for dismissal. Yet my babies are still not home with us. We’re missing out on so many milestones. May will be their first birthday and I cannot imagine not being able to have them home with us to celebrate as a family. I miss my babies so much, so so much. My husband and I have faith that this will come to an end and we will speak up and speak out for families that are going through the same.”
Jeremiah 29:11
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