Thursday, August 4, 2011

The Statement

This is what I want to give to the Family Advocacy to read during the hearing next month. The hearing is to determine if the CDC at 32nd street should be held accountable for neglect from when my daughter got hurt.


Fear, Worry, Hurt, Confusion, Anger, Loss of Trust. These are just a few of the emotions that my family and I have endured the past Five months.

As a Mother, you try to do the very best for your children, no matter how hard those choices you make for them end up being. Our decision to put our daughter in daycare was difficult. I battled with it for months before finally being OK enough to try it. I've waited a very long time, and went through so much to finally have the baby I always wanted. Putting her in daycare was difficult, but I felt that we would both benefit from it. I have never been more wrong than I was when I trusted those at the 32nd street CDC.

Our daughter was barely in there a week before she came home with a swelling on the side of her head. In the days, weeks and month that followed, that soft to the touch bump, would begin to make her head look like she had a tumor.

We did what we were suppose to do with this. The moment we noticed the bump, we dropped everything and went to the ER. I called the CDC on our way and asked if anything happened. I didn't get an “oh my, I'm so sorry”, I got a “hold on, I'll ask the teacher, nope nothing happened”. I never got any sympathy for my daughter from those at the CDC. No, “let me know if there is anything I can do”, no, “I'm so sorry, let me go check the video tape and we will get to the bottom of it”. No phone calls to check up on her. NOTHING.

When I asked to see the video tape, I was told I had to write a letter requesting to see it. Which, once again, I did what I was suppose to. I wrote the letter there. Weeks of unanswered phone calls, I finally get hold of the director and was told the tapes were sent to the legal department. Red Flag #1.

Once again, months of unanswered phone calls and emails, and I finally get a letter in the mail and an email stating, “we are investigating, we'll let you know”. There was NO sense of urgency NOTHING. 4 months after the incident, I finally contact Family Advocacy and we get a meeting. Shortly after the first visit with Family Advocacy, we are told “the video tape was not working, or messed up, or etc that day”. Red Flag # 2.

I lost 2 job offers because I had to pull my daughter from this daycare. I have lost sleep, stressed over the fact that ALL I wanted from this is to find out what happened to my daughter. I had CPS come to my home and question me and my husband to see if WE hurt our child. Can you even imagine how low that made me feel. A Mother who loves her child with every ounce of my being, to see my child get looked over. To be questioned as to weather me or my husband have harmed her.

Let's not forget the 20 minutes we had to stay outside the X-Ray room during her overnight stay at the hospital, listening to her scream while they held her down to do a full body X-Ray because CPS was involved.

I was given a word limit, and am not “allowed” to be in this meeting. So you will never know the emotion that this letter should portray. You are meeting today to determine if there was in fact neglect occurring in this case. I believe there was.

The CDC neglected to allow me to view the video tape from the week my daughter was hurt. The CDC neglected to show even a slight ounce of sympathy for the fact that my daughter left their care with a small non-displaced fracture. The CDC neglected to follow up with us about how our daughter was doing. The CDC neglected to stay in contact with us about the status of the videos. The Legal department for the CDC also neglected to inform me that the video was no longer available and the reason why. CPS neglected to return my phone call when I told them about the video being sent to the legal department. And now that the video was destroyed, I can only assume it was because the CDC and those who were in charge of the care of my daughter, neglected us. I can only hope, no matter what is decided today, that those who continue to send their innocent children to the 32nd street facility, will know about the lack of care and the neglectful nature of this place, and refrain from subjecting their children to this facility and those who work there.  

Picture of Keira in the hospital

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