Robbing the Poor

October 18, 2010 permalink

Five-year-old Emma Routh was born with Fanconi anemia, a rare condition best treated with a bone-marrow transplant. After her family was driven into poverty paying her medical bills, Texas CPS seized the child because the parents can not afford to give proper care.

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Texas takes custody of Children’s patient

Affidavit alleges neglect by mother

By Maria Cramer and Carolyn Y. Johnson, Globe Staff / October 18, 2010

A 5-year-old girl who traveled with her mother to Children’s Hospital Boston for treatment this month has been taken into custody by Texas authorities, who cited evidence of medical neglect.

Emma Routh has Fanconi anemia, a rare and serious blood disorder that can cause bone marrow failure and lead to cancer. She received a bone marrow transplant at Children’s Hospital Boston in January, and her story has drawn national media attention because of her family’s struggle to pay medical bills.

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services took custody of the child Friday after an affidavit was filed in Anderson County 349th District Court in Palestine, Texas.

“The medical condition of the child warranted that we get involved and that we take immediate custody,’’ said Shari Pulliam, a spokeswoman for the department who read portions of the affidavit to the Globe.

It stated that Emma was dehydrated on Oct. 8, the day she arrived at the hospital, Pulliam said. Her hygiene was “suboptimal,’’ and a blood culture from the central venous line attached to her body revealed the presence of several types of bacteria, Pulliam read from the affidavit. Since July, the family had been monitored by Texas’s Family Based Safety Services.

“The department believes that the safety of Emma would be in immediate danger should she return to the care of her parents, due to the history of medical neglect, physical neglect, and neglectful supervision,’’ the affidavit states. Pulliam said it also cites “the obvious neglect by the mother for failing to provide necessary nutrition and hydration to the medically fragile child for over 24 hours, which resulted in kidney damage, and could lead to more severe and potential life-threatening complications.’’

A case worker from Texas will travel to Boston this week. When Emma is discharged from Children’s Hospital, she will be brought to a children’s hospital in Dallas, the affidavit says.

“They told me that they had some bad news,’’ Brandy Routh, the girl’s mother, said in an interview Saturday. “They really wanted me to stay calm but they needed to inform me they had turned me in to children’s services.’’

Beth Andrews, a spokeswoman for Children’s Hospital Boston, said that the hospital is barred from commenting on the case. “There is a Texas court order preventing Children’s Hospital Boston from releasing information about the child or the family,’’ Andrews said.

Routh has drawn sympathy and headlines for her quest to have her daughter’s disease treated at Children’s Hospital Boston. In an ABC News story, Routh said she quit college to focus on her daughter and lost her house and car because of medical bills.

Routh said she flew to Boston on Oct. 7 for what was supposed to be a two- to three-day trip to the hospital so doctors could run tests on Emma.

Routh said she was nervous about making the trip because Emma, who has difficulty eating and drinking on her own, would have to make the long journey without use of a central venous line that helps keep her hydrated.

But she said doctors assured her that Emma would be OK as long as she got to the hospital by the next morning.

After Routh arrived with her daughter, she said doctors took blood tests that gave them pause and told her Emma would need to stay a few days at the hospital for observation.

Before Saturday, Routh had been staying in Emma’s room, sleeping on a small bed. Now, Pulliam said, Routh is allowed to see her child for supervised visits during three two-hour intervals over the course of a day.

Routh said she was a good mother who did everything she could to help her daughter fight the disease.

She said she has also been prohibited by authorities to be with her other two children, both boys, without supervision.

“I’m going home to nothing,’’ Routh said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. My kids are my life. All I know is being their mother.’’

Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com.

Source: Boston Globe

Addendum: An email from Shealaina Mullin pointed to this commentary from the FLDS:

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TEXAS CPS NOW KNOWS THEY HAVE TO FIGHT FOR EMMA

Two weeks ago, kidnapping Emma Routh was a slam dunk for Texass CPS. They merely had an Ex parte "Hearing" in front of a Texas Judge and saw visions of dollar signs dancing before their eyes. It turns out that Emma is a cash cow worth in excess of 1.5 million big ones to Texas if they can keep her in the State, and with her mother following Doctor’s Orders and advice and taking the little girl to a hospital in Boston where they actually know how to treat her, Texass was seeing all that cash flow out of State.

Now, not only can they keep the 1.5 million, but Emma’s 2 brothers, David, 8 and Dalton, 2 will bring in another cool $300,000.00 Grand on the adoption block as well. For CPS, it was a Grand Slam.

And then we found out about the heist of the little 5 year old out of her hospital bed in Boston and the shit hit the fan. No more free ride for CPS, now they have to actually PROVE Emma is in any danger from her mother.

A Hearing was held in Palestine (Texas, not the sand box) and CPS expected to walk away with all that cash. Then Emma’s mom showed up with not one, but two lawyers obtained through this site.

Tom Sanders of Houston and Jerri Lynn Ward are now working to return custody of Emma to her mother so that the little girl can survive the intervention of Texas by being treated by her Doctors, and not a pack of ghouls who see dollar signs instead of children.

The Hearing went well on Monday, and will continue on Friday.

Brandy is in good spirits and very grateful to all of you for your prayers and good wishes.

With the Federal bonus money, Texas stands to lose 2 million on this heist, so they are not likely to give up easily. This means the legal costs will be there, and Brandy needs your help. If you have some spare change, let me know and I’ll send you an address to get it to the lawyers.

Source: FLDS