STEPHANIE | COLORADO

"In February 2020, we welcomed a baby into our home. Her mother had made the decision at the hospital that she wanted her daughter to be adopted and for the next four months, we were enjoying life as a family of eight. Our baby had been born premature, exposed to drugs so she had some mild health issues, but overall she was doing well and growing and we were so in love with her.

On June 13th 2020, our world spun out of control as our 4-month-old was rushed by ambulance to the children’s hospital after she had a seizure and became unconscious. About two hours after being checked into the hospital, we realized we were being interrogated. Due to COVID-19, we were interviewed virtually by a pediatrician that was on the “Child Protection Team.” The pediatrician basically said we were lying and wanted to know who hurt the baby. We were then informed that our baby was diagnosed with Shaken Baby Syndrome or Abusive Head Trauma, an accusation that we were absolutely stunned by.

Twelve hours after arriving at the hospital, law enforcement and a DHS (CPS) case worker informed us that they would be removing not only our baby from our care, but also all of our other children. We were devastated and confused. We tried pleading and begging and explaining they have this wrong because we never hurt our baby. It was fruitless.

A pediatric neurologist at the children’s hospital disagreed with the Shaken Baby Syndrome diagnosis, as our baby had a very rough start into this world. A specialist, known as a Child Abuse Pediatrician, claimed otherwise and our lives were flipped upside-down because of this opinion.

My husband and I participated in polygraphs, which were both passed. Our attorneys called in a leading expert in pediatric neurology. Following the review of the records, this expert concluded that this was certainly not child abuse, but rather a medical event due to prematurity and meth exposure in-utero which caused weakened blood vessels.

In March 2021, our case was finally dismissed and closed. In March of 2022, our case was reopened by the GAL (an attorney appointed by the court to ‘represent a child’s best interests’) then dismissed and closed for the second and final time a few months later. Law enforcement never pressed criminal charges. The military investigation was closed and unfounded, citing ‘no likelihood of child abuse or criminal conduct.’

Here we sit today, two and a half years later. We have over $20,000 in outstanding legal fees. We lost our baby, indefinitely, since the adoption had not yet been finalized before the incident happened. We have our own children back and we are healing and we are all recovering from the trauma. There will always be a piece of my heart missing not having our baby. The mental, physical, emotional, and financial strain this had on our family will likely last forever. But we will continue to fight for the wrongfully accused. Until my dying day, I will fight for innocent families. I am now about to complete my bachelor’s degree in a few months and have plans to apply to law school to continue this fight of wrongful accusations.

To those in the midst of your fight, WE ARE WITH YOU. We stand beside you. There IS hope. Don’t stop fighting for the truth and for your children."