We’ve all seen the posters saying, “Don’t Shake the Baby” throughout schools, hospitals, and the like. We’ve seen the front page, breaking news stories about parents being locked up for the crime. But, have you ever heard from the accused?
Have you ever sat in during an investigation or a trial? There is a very different narrative to be told that what is widely accepted as truth.
I trusted everything that everyone told me—until I, along with my husband, were accused of the crime twice. The accusations even spilled over to other family members.
I graduated from college almost an entire calendar year early. My first post-baccalaureate position was at Chicago Public Schools, working with children. My husband came from generations of preachers, engineers, and military personnel.
He dreamt ofbecoming a business owner. We were young Black newlyweds, ready to take on the world. To those looking in from the outside, we seemed to live the perfect lives, without even as much as a speeding ticket on our records.
However, on April 7, 2014, our lives changed forever.
There we were, standing at the hospital bed of our tiny, six-week-old daughter. She was taken in for seizures that seemed to have come without warning. My husband and I were still trying to comprehend what was actually happening when we were asked to sign off various testing for our child. That night they ordered X-rays, CT-scans, and an MRI. Our child was moved up to the intensive care unit while we waited for the results—we heard nothing more until morning.
That next morning, my husband left to take care of a few things back home. He felt comfortable leaving for a couple of hours because doctors somewhat stabilized the seizures, and my mother had arrived at the hospital early that morning. Shortly after my husband left, my mother and I were met by a team of physicians who informed me that they had reason to believe that our child was a victim of physical child abuse.
They told us that test results indicated multiple rib fractures and intracranial hemorrhaging, that my child was “shaken, brutally beaten multiple times”, and that they had notified DCFS. Being shocked, bewildered, and confused by the news, I asked to see the results of the testing. My request was ignored, andto this day, I have yet to be shown any of my daughter’s test results by a physician at that hospital. I notified my husband of the information and he returned immediately.
Upon my husband’s return to the hospital, DCFS and the police had already arrived. As I continued to ask for the results of our daughter’s testing, I was told that I “wouldn’t know what I was looking at” or “parents are not usually allowed to obtain results of their child’s testing”. As our own suspicions grew and we consulted outside medical professionals in the pediatric field, we began asking questions pertaining to Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Calcium, clotting and Parathyroid test results.
After all, our child received four blood transfusions and we were given no rhyme or reason. Doctors became more intimidated by us as our questions became more educated. The police were asked to return and we were separately detained for 72 hours. I was even walked out in handcuffs. We were restricted from seeing our child in the hospital. My husband and I even had to fight to see each other during that time.
Meanwhile, our daughter’s symptoms recurred as new findings were made weeks after our removal from the hospital—unbeknownst to us…
In the ensuing months, we lost our jobs, spent our entire savings and even lost housing, while fighting for our daughter. We made ourselves as available for her as we could (we were allowed very odd visitation hours), but were restricted from doctor’s appointments for quite some time after her placement in foster care.
Previously exclusively nursing and bottle-feeding, I was no longer allowed to breastfeed, discontinuing the bond my child naturally created with her mother. We assembled a legal defense team that consisted of both private and public attorneys, as well as doctors of various specialties.
As we began preparing for a juvenile trial against DCFS accusations of abuse, and expert doctors submitted reports, I found out I was pregnant again. The fear of losing another child to the system overcame us, so we decided to stipulate to trial. We knew that stipulating would cause the judge to rule with DCFS and the state that abuse occurred; however, it achieved the goal of keeping our newborn child home with us. It also expedited the transition process for our child in care. While deliberating with attorneys, we also learned that juvenile cases in this particular county all follow a “certain protocol”. We were fighting against something much bigger than just our family.
I had fears that my second child would be just as sick as my first, so I began getting full bloodwork done. I took as many preventative measures that I had the knowledge to take medically, hoping it was enough. I collaborated with my OB/GYN to assess my vitamins and minerals and began taking appropriate supplements for my insufficiencies, although the issues continued to persist. Multiple rounds of genetic testing revealed mutations for various diseases, and when brought to the courts, they were ignored.
The Syndrome, which is a documentary dissecting the gaps in Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) science, was released around the time our case began. It included testimony from parents like us, and from many doctors who, some even previously supporting the “science”, questioned the entire theory. One doctor mentioned the political backing that Shaken Baby Syndrome receives and even further mentioned that SBS does not exist without a confession. At that moment, we realized why we had not been criminally charged.
Our second daughter was born with exaggerated jaundice, staying in the hospital for 11 days after her birth. The stipulation allowed us to bring her home, but we also agreed to continuous monitoring from DCFS, family members, and caseworkers. The new judge on the case believed in our innocence. Our home was a revolving door, to the point that I could count on one hand how many days we didn’t have any visitors. That detail meant nothing once Pandora’s Box was reopened.
This time, it was eye redness. We had justmoved to a less-than-ideal apartment, but it was all we could afford at the time. Our newborn daughter woke to breastfeed, asymptomatic, with redness in the corner of one of her eyes. Assuming there were allergens present, we took her to the ER. After a few tests, we were told that she seemed to be doing fine, and the eye redness was diagnosed with irritation.
The next day my husband and I followed up with the pediatricians’ office during walk-in hours. Once again, we were told our daughter appeared well. We were just about to be released when we were met by another child abuse pediatrician (we would soon learn that this child abuse pediatrician was a part of the same network of other child abuse pediatricians who had diagnosed our oldest daughter). This pediatrician realized we had a “Shaken Baby” case in foster care- and sent us back to the ER for an MRI, CT Scan, and X-Ray to be done on our younger daughter.
My husband held our younger daughter through all procedures (just as he had done with our oldest daughter) and doctors came in just after her X-rays. All other testing seemed to have returned with no abnormalities because we were being told she would be released once more. Doctors waited for the results, explaining that our younger daughter may have just had a reaction to an irritant from our new home. The doctors left to prepare discharge papers, and we prepared to go home. A short time later, the doctors returned, along with a police officer. It was déjà vu.
We prepared for a second trial and decided to fight this in court. This time, we had not been handcuffed or detained, and my husband was not even interviewed by officers. Our child had “old” fractures, “new” fractures, a birth injury to her clavicle, and very old hemorrhaging spanning before the time she was home with us. Her eye redness was re-diagnosed as hemorrhaging, to fit the “triad” of SBS symptoms.
Our attorneys ordered more X-Rays and blood tests aftershe was removed from our care and she continued to fracture in foster care. The blood tests came back indicative of bone disease. She received Genetic Testing for two types of Brittle Bone Disease, but we never received the results. The more time that passed, the more it became clear to me that this was political. The medical results were clearly proving our innocence; yet, we continued to be accused of child abuse via Shaken Baby Syndrome.
We contacted the same medical experts that had previously reviewed our older daughter’s medical records, and they were adamant about clear medical evidence to prove metabolic and possible genetic issues in both girls. Even at trial, one of the expert witnesses for the State’s Attorney’s Office testified that they did not believe the findings were indicative of child abuse.
One doctor even admitted that they spent no more than 5-10 minutes reviewing medical records before coming to their conclusion. The witnesses’ testimonies now were in our favor; totaling four out of six total doctors who agreed with my husband and me. They stood for trial, and the verdict came in.
“Your child was abused… Yet you two (my husband and myself) didn’t do it” Is how the judge rendered his verdict on November 30, 2016. He spoke in circles for about 10 minutes. He did maintain that my husband and I could not have been the perpetrators of child abuse because:
First, the steps we took to obtain sufficient medical care did not fit the “abusive psychology” that the prosecution tried to argue. We were persistent in taking our child to the doctor for a follow-up appointment even after being released.
Secondly, too many of our daughter’s symptoms occurred at times when our younger daughter was well outside of our care dating before and dating after. The judge stated thatif he were to believe we could have abused our child, there would be multiple people added to that list, growing it “exponentially”.
Lastly, the judge believed that parents that were successfully transitioning one child home, would not turn around and abuse another during that time.
None of that mattered during the political verdict.
“So can we bring our child home if you believe in our innocence? Why wasn’t the case thrown out if symptoms happened outside of our care? Why are we here?” These are all the thoughts that ran through my head, but the main thought was how can I get my girls some help.
I will not continue to allow my children to suffer at the hands of injustice. My children deserve a to experience happiness, stability, adequate medical care, and true, unconditional love. So much more has occurred since then, as this is only the tip of the iceberg. My husband and I love our children more than anything in this world, and we will continue to fight that they are returned to our care as if our lives depend on it… because they do. It is time to speak out.
If you or someone you know has experienced something similar, if you have any questions, or if you know someone who can help, feel free to reach me at olivefost18@gmail.com.
Sincerely,
“Jane Doe”