Laura, please read this entire thing. You will be sickened. It is
absolutely the most unexcusable thing I've ever heard and has to be illegal.
I hope they sue the crap out of the state.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Maria Parlapiano RN, IBCLC" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2010 11:17 AM
Subject: Blind mother blind-sided by system-long
The following is an article forwarded to me by my neice,Serena who is blind,
26 yrs old and in graduate school. Backround, Serena was born @ 23.5 wks
gestation, left the NICU after 8 months exclusively breastfeeding. (1984) I
know that she hopes to be a mom herself someday and breastfeed, God willing,
so the article below hits a frightening cord. As you will read, this
situation was handled so poorly and now the option to breastfeed is gone. I
was pleased to hear this little baby was returned to her parents, but I hope
the fight continues to assure this does not happen to another blind parent.
(long -sorry I didn't have the link)
Infant is returned to blind couple after state places her in protective
custody
By LEE HILL KAVANAUGH The Kansas City Star
Fifty-seven days after she was born, Mikaela Sinnett was home for the first
time Tuesday with her
parents, Erika Johnson and Blake Sinnett of Independence. State officials
had worried they were unable to care for her. DAVID EULITT | The Kansas City
Sta Fifty-seven days after she was born, Mikaela Sinnett was home for the
first time Tuesday with her parents, Erika Johnson and Blake Sinnett of
Independence. State officials had worried they were unable to care for her.
A folding cane used by Blake Sinnett rested in the baby carrier used to
carry home his daughter. On Tuesday, Blake Sinnett, guided by his mother,
Jenne Sinnett, carried his
2-month-old daughter, Mikaela Sinnett. Behind them was Mikaela's mother,
Erika Johnson. Erika Johnson will never be able to see her baby, Mikaela.
But for 57 days she couldn't keep her newborn close, smell her baby's
breath, feel her downy hair. The state took away her 2-day-old infant into
protective custody - because Johnson and Mikaela's father are both blind. No
allegations of abuse, just a fear that the new parents would be unable to
care for the child. On Tuesday, Johnson still couldn't stop crying, although
Mikaela was back in her arms. "We never got the chance to be parents," she
said. "We had to prove that we could." Tuesday, she and Blake Sinnett knew
their baby was finally coming home to their Independence apartment, but an
adjudication hearing was scheduled for the afternoon on whether the state
would stay involved in the rearing of the baby. Then from a morning phone
call to their attorney, they learned that the state was dismissing their
case. "Every minute that has passed that this family wasn't together is a
tragedy. A legal tragedy and a moral one, too," said Amy Coopman, their
attorney. "How do you get
57 days back?" Arleasha Mays, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of
Social Services, said privacy laws prohibited her from speaking about
specific cases. But she added, "The only time we recommend a child be
removed is if it's in imminent danger." Johnson said she knew the system
eventually would realize its horrible mistake, but she often was consumed
with sadness. Sinnett tried his best to keep Johnson hopeful. For almost two
months she and Sinnett could visit their baby only two or three times a
week, for just an hour at a time, with a foster parent monitoring. "I'm a
forgiving person," Johnson said, but she's resentful that people assumed she
was incapable. "Disability does not equal inability," she said.
Representatives of the sightless community agreed that people were
well-meaning but blinded by ignorance. Mikaela was born May 21 at
Centerpoint Medical Center of Independence. The doctors let Sinnett "see"
her birth by feeling the crowning of her head. For Johnson, hearing
Mikaela's whimpers was a thrill. The little human inside her all these
months, the one who hiccupped and burped, who kicked and moved, especially
at night, was now a real person whom she loved more than anything else she'd
ever imagined. In her overnight bag was Mikaela's special homecoming outfit,
a green romper from Johnson's mother, with matching bottoms and a baby bow.
Questions arose within hours of Mikaela's birth, after Johnson's clumsy
first attempts at breast-feeding - something many new mothers experience. A
lactation nurse noticed that Mikaela's nostrils were covered by Johnson's
breast. Johnson felt that something was wrong and switched her baby to her
other side, but not before Mikaela turned blue. That's when the concerned
nurse wrote on a chart: "The child is without proper custody, support or
care due to both of parents being blind and they do not have specialized
training to assist them." Her words set into motion the state mechanisms
intended to protect children from physical or sexual abuse, unsanitary
conditions, neglect or absence of basic needs being met. Centerpoint said it
could not comment because of patient privacy laws, but spokeswoman Gene
Hallinan said, "We put the welfare of our patients as our top priority." A
social worker from the state came by Johnson's hospital room and asked her
questions: How could she take her baby's temperature? Johnson answered: with
our talking thermometer. How will you take her to a doctor if she gets sick?
Johnson's reply: If it were an emergency, they'd call an ambulance. For a
regular doctor's appointment, they'd call a cab or ride a bus. But it wasn't
enough for the social worker, who told Johnson she would need 24-hour care
by a sighted person at their apartment. Johnson said they couldn't afford
it, didn't need it. "I needed help as a new parent, but not as a blind
parent," Johnson said. She recalled the social worker saying: " 'Look,
because you guys are blind, I don't feel like you can adequately take care
of her.' And she left." The day of Johnson's discharge, another social
worker delivered the news to the couple that Mikaela was not going home with
them. The parents returned the next day to visit Mikaela before she left the
hospital, but they were barred from holding her. "All we could do was touch
her arm or leg," Johnson said. The couple began making calls. Gary Wunder,
president of the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri, had trouble
believing it at first. "I needed to verify their whole story," he recalled.
"We had to do due diligence. . I found the couple to be intelligent and
responsible. "We knew this was an outrage that had taken place." He notified
Kansas City chapter president Shelia Wright, who visited the 24-year-olds.
Hearing about the empty crib, the baby clothes, Wright recalled, "I felt as
helpless as I've ever felt in my life. "I hurt so bad for them. This is
unforgivable." They rallied other associations for the blind nationwide.
More than 100 people at a national convention in Dallas volunteered to
travel to Kansas City to protest and testify, both as blind parents and as
the sighted children of blind parents. (Mikaela has normal sight.) They also
hired Coopman, who watched the young couple with their baby girl on Tuesday.
"I'm sorry," she said, wiping tears. "But this should not have happened."
Johnson kept a journal that Coopman is keeping closed for now. She indicates
that legal action will be taken. "Whether a couple is visually impaired or
deaf or in a wheelchair, the state should not keep them from their
children," she said. Now breast-feeding is a lost option. And the beautiful
newborn clothes hanging in the closet went unworn, because their baby was
growing bigger in the arms of someone else. The couple said they had tried
to prove themselves to the sighted community since their early years.
Sinnett rode his bicycle on the street with the help of a safety gadget.
Johnson graduated from high school with honors. But all the challenges
they've endured over the years shrink compared to the responsibility of
caring for 10 pounds of squirming baby girl. Johnson cuddled Mikaela. Gave
her a bottle. Patted her back until she burped. Mikaela gave a tiny smile.
In their 24 years, the couple said, they've both endured prejudice from
others. They don't want any other blind parent to suffer the same obstacle
they did. Fifty-seven days are too precious to lose. The Star's Laura Bauer
contributed to this report. To reach Lee Hill Kavanaugh, call 816-234-4420
or send e-mail to [log in to unmask] <mailto:lkavanaugh%40kcstar.com
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