Family battling Children’s Hospital to bring teen home for Christmas

[liljim]

Absolutely. You can read Children's policy on wards of the state yourself.

Exactly, so there is no point in my trying to explain it to you.

 

[wendiesan]

Re: Why was Justina denied permission to see a priest, receive communion, or participate in her religious community during her residency in Bader 5? (I posed this question and am just starting to look into it. I'm posting this information to contrast what the expectations are for patients and their families who are admitted to BCH units other than Bader 5 with the Bader 5 policy as if affected Justina. I'm also posting a few other things I found re visitors.)

If Lou Pelletier is correct, and Justina was not allowed visits by her priest, or phone conversations, let alone participating in the sacraments of the Roman Catholic faith for the length of her confinement in Bader 5, this policy appears to differ from the policy regarding the importance of clerical visitation in other parts of the hospital. In fact, it seems that the overarching view is that BCH attempts to give members of many religious groups the opportunity for practicing private prayer as well as receiving pastoral comfort and participating in communal worship. Again, that appears to differ greatly from the treatment of Justina in Bader 5 according to her family and her lawyers.

Apparently, Boston Children's Hospital makes it possible for patients and their families to receive comfort and strength from clergy of various faiths or to use other religious resources.
http://www.childrenshospital.org/patient-resources/family-resources/chaplaincy

There are specific times of worship for Buddhist (Wed), Jewish, Muslim, Protestant and Roman Catholic (Sun, Mon, Wed, Fri) faiths.

(Although having a Catholic priest available for prayer, comfort, and spiritual guidance might not have been an everyday occurrence, the priest was available at least four days each week, and was willing to go to the bedside of patients who made such requests. It would not have been difficult for the Bader 5 team to respect Justina's spiritual needs enough to schedule a visit with the chaplain. The question is then, was there a conflict about which priest should visit Justina? Did the parents request that Justina's parish priest visit and the hospital refused to allow it? Did the parents refuse to have the chaplain attend Justina? I guess I'm harping on this restriction because, without information from the Bader 5 Team, there is no way of knowing the basis for their decisions.)

Additionally, the multi-faith chapel is open 24/7 and some accoutrements of religious observance are available. Clergy are usually in the hospital 8 - 5, M-F and reachable by pager outside of "office" hours.

The availability of clergy seems to underscore the importance placed on pastoral support for patients and families during treatment and recuperation periods in sections of BCH outside of Bader 5. It seems clear to me that, supposing LP was correct, Justina was not receiving treatment in accord with that given patients in other sections of BCH while she was kept in Bader 5.

[Given the discrepancy between the apparent refusal of the Bader 5 team to allow Justina the use of BCH Chaplaincy resources and the use of those resources by other departments, I wonder if the BCH Ethics Advisory Committee was informed about this case, and what their recommendations would have been. (http://www.childrenshospital.org/clinician-resources/ethics-advisory-committee)]

Members of BCH chaplaincy are hired for those positions. The basic expectations of a chaplain are outlined in job postings. Following is such a posting for a part-time Muslim chaplain at BCH. http://associationofmuslimchaplains.com/2013/10/05/boston-childrens-hospital/ I think there may have been many more details which were discussed, but this does give some idea of the scope involved in the job.

Re: General policy regarding visitors at BCH: parents are allowed to be with their child 24 hours per day. although overnight accommodation is only available for one parent. Visitors are, in general, limited to 3 at a time (different nursing units have different policies). Visitors must wear ID. Siblings and other relatives may visit every day between noon and 8 pm. Far cry from what went on in Bader 5 for Justina.

Re: Internet access "To help you stay connected with your life beyond the hospital, Boston Children's Hospital has high-speed Internet access in every inpatient public area in the main hospital building. Children in the hospital can easily stay in touch with friends, relatives and their teachers." Computers are not supplied by the hospital but the wifi is free for use by those who bring their own laptops, etc. In fact, on the FAQ's for teens (http://www.childrenshospital.org/~/media/Patient Resources/Overview/welcome_inpatient_0211.ashx) this is stated " Can I email my friends and go online?
In addition to the computers available for your use in the Center for Families 12 , some units have computers you can use to email friends and go online. If you have a laptop, you can bring it; all inpatient rooms have free Internet access."

http://www.childrenshospital.org/patient-resources/for-your-convenience/internet-access

Again, according to LP, Justina was not allowed to have any access to the internet (therefore to emails), to her cellphone, or to her music. For the entire length of her stay, she was isolated from her friends, her family, and her community. Perhaps there is a policy in place for Bader 5 to keep patients from knowing that their families miss them to minimize stress. Or perhaps the policy was designed for a short-term diagnostic centre that kept patients for two weeks, not thirteen months.

 

[liljim]

Or perhaps, just perhaps, many of those claims are not entirely accurate.

 

[wendiesan]

Or perhaps, just perhaps, many of those claims are not entirely accurate.

Could be. That's why I brought up the possibility that the refusal of a priest (if it happened) could have as easily been made by family declining visits by the BCH chaplain as by the Bader 5 team declining visits from Justina's parish priest, or the BCH chaplain. It also could be that the Bader 5 team wanted a particular focus during Justina's treatment, and felt that visitors could have a negative impact on that treatment.

I think it's good to see that the Bader 5 unit may not follow the guidelines used by other hospital units.

It's also good to know that the hospital has been designed to allow young patients to be in contact with their friends, teachers, family via the internet. To me, it suggests that policies can then be set according to criteria other than availability of wifi or electrical outlets, for example.

 

[Elley Mae]

I am new to this case. After reading all the posts and news articles, stunned is where I am. My first thought is poor Justina! Sounds like she is at the mercy of an over-powering BCH, who rules DCF, the court system and all who enter their building!

We all know how slow and over worked DCF is reported to be in most states. So, in a city the size of Boston, it is amazing how quickly they respond to a call by BCH! Hmmm . . .

Perhaps I did not read it correctly, or it was not published, there did not seem much evidence against the parents other than doctor shopping and their tempers. On the same hand, there was not much put up to show what good parents they are.

As a parent, I would have been upset over a newly graduated doctor being assigned to my child. Also, not being allowed to see the doctor we had come there to see would cause me distress. And then to give me a sheet of rules that says no second opinions, well, that would cause me to want to take my child out of there!! This is a well renowned hospital, not a jail! Yes, I get it, they had the scope on the parents. However, if that is true, BCH also knew parents had tempers and all of the above would only set them off.

Keeping Justina in a psych ward for so long is pathetic. It sounds like she was kept there because her parents were too stubborn to accept or do anything the judge suggested. In my opinion,the judge's ruling leaves a lot to be questioned!

Bottom line, it seems like two diagnoses for Justina that have no real proof, BCH is so uppity that no one will dare question them, and Justina is the pawn! Sad sad case! Show me proof of allegations of medical abuse by parents?

My thoughts and opinions only.

bbm I don't know much about the dcf but maybe something will happen in this case.

DCF shuffles the deck
Critic says move ‘undercuts’ Deval


http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2014/04/dcf_shuffles_the_deck

The state’s embattled child welfare agency is shaking up its leadership team under Commissioner Olga Roche with a new chief of staff plucked from City Hall and several promotions and reassignments — a move critics say appears to “prop up” Roche and “undercuts” Gov. Deval Patrick’s claims of confidence in her.

 

[wendiesan]

So, latest news: Justina Pelletier will not be allowed to see her family on Easter Sunday.
http://inagist.com/all/456934445082107904/
http://www.lifenews.com/2014/04/17/...wed-to-visit-their-daughter-on-easter-sunday/

Hardly a surprise.

IMO, Ms. Roche may be using past threats (http://www.boston.com/news/local/20...a-pelletier/fTFflhP08JCyJwoWVCeZnO/story.html) as reasons to protect Justina from potential attempts to rescue/kidnap her. [The "rescuers" could hurt her while trying to help her.] If Roche wanted to allow it, the family could have visited Justina in the facility with a priest so they could celebrate mass together as a family for the first time in over a year. For someone who claims "my passion has been strengthening families and helping children thrive" (http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/depar...f-dcf-commissioner-roche-january-23-2014.html), she has a very odd way of demonstrating this core belief.
Roche seems to just be continuing the policy of utter isolation instigated by the Bader 5 Team.

How very lonely for Justina.

 

[Donjeta]

Pelletier’s parents, who live in West Hartford, Conn., have insisted that their daughter suffers from mitochondrial disorder, a group of genetic ailments that affect how cells produce energy, often causing problems with the gut, brain and muscles. Pelletier’s physicians at Tufts Medical Center had been treating her for this illness for about a year, saying she exhibited many of its symptoms and were still in the midst of determining if she had a clear-cut case of this disorder.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/20...a-pelletier/fTFflhP08JCyJwoWVCeZnO/story.html

I had thought that it was an older diagnosis.

 

[SwampMama]

I don't know all the facts of the case in explicit detail but I can see that Justina has deteriorated under the hospital's care. i can see that she has a loving family, sisters and friends that she loves and is being denied contact with them. I can see that a medical institution and staff have overstepped their boundaries by what they have done.

Justina is not a small child who is being physically or mentally abused. She is a young teen who should be old enough to express if she is being abused, old enough to know if she wants to refuse this hospital's care and go home be with her parents.

Can you imagine the torment she is going thru with all of this? How much mental damage is being done to this poor child by isolating her and ripping her out of her home and her life? You have NO idea how painful that can be for a teenager to be incarcerated and isolated when they have done NOTHING to deserve it. She is not guilty of anything, even if her parents were (and I do not believe they are) yet SHE is being punished and locked away, deprived of a normal life and normal teenage freedoms. She has no control over what happens to her at all.

In my case, the hospital knew I had great insurance and wanted the payout. I made a friend there who had insurance that covered 2 years of inpatient stay and she had to stay 24 months. basically, we all knew that you would be "cured" on the day your insurance ran out. What a freaking scam. i know Justina's case is not like that but i DO know that some hospital and doctors will do as they please and totally disregard what is right or what is best for the patient.

Actually, I do know some of what she is going thru. (Long story ahead)

Here is what I know about hospitals holding children hostage against their will when there is NO medical reason to do so. It happened to me when I was a teen. I was 17 years old, had graduated high-school a year before at age 16 and had a full-time job (and car) and was saving money to attend college. My mother did NOT want me to go to college (she wanted me to join the service). I refused. A week or two later she told me to pack a few clothes cuz we were going to visit my gram.

Instead we pulled up to a facility much like Justina is in. My mother apparently told them that I was doing drugs (I had never touched an illegal or recreational drug in my life), that i was partying all the time (nope, worked and came home, no friends, no boyfriends, NO social life at all (I was new in town and am a homebody anyway.) She told them I was suicidal and had threatened her. (Total BS. I was a bookworm who stayed to herself, in her room when not at work, I avoided her as much as possible).

Mom knew I was about to be 18 in a few months and that her rule over me was about to end. I had already looked into emancipation before but figured I would just wait out the year or so till I was 18. She figured if she could institutionalize me, have me declared mentally incompetent that she could retain control over me and get a SSI check too!

So there I was, a bright and motivated teen who had graduated from high school a year early by doing extra classes in summer and by correspondence, I had a fulltime job, had amazing SAT score, had never done drugs, gone out partying etc. But the hospital kept me for 72 hour "observation". I figured they would let me go after 72 hours since my bloodwork would not show any drugs and they could call my employer and/or school to see what kind of person i was.

Nope! Instead they investigated my insurance and found that it covered all expenses for 3 months of inpatient care. This was MY insurance from MY job, nothing from my mom at all. Sure all the drug test came back negative, they could find nothing wrong with me to diagnose me with but they kept me anyway. For three effing months!! I was declared miraculously cured the minute my insurance was up.

I spent 3 months on a unit with some very messed up kids who were nothing like me. Every aspect of my life was controlled, even when I could go to the bathroom because "rules were rules". I got to go outside maybe 3 times during that 3 months. They made me attend their joke of a high school even though I had graduated highschool the year before "cuz rules are rules, everyone must attend school". I had stuff stolen from me by staff.

Luckily i had a decent doctor. He told me that I could consult an attorney at any time to fight to get out but that my 3 months would be up before I would make any headway with a lawyer in the courts, in fact, fighting them might make it worse and cause other staff members to come down harder on me.

Justina does NOT belong in a place like this. She does NOT belong in an institution. It will damage her, probably for life. I bet she will develop a dislike or distrust of doctors and medical professionals. There in NO reason for her to be locked up this way and to be denied access to loved ones.

There are thousands of severely mentally ill children who need inpatient care and can't get it because the beds are full. We KNOW this is practically an epidemic. Parents of violent, mentrally ill kids can't get inpatient care and have to live in fear.

But yet, Justina, who is a threat to no one, is locked up like a criminal. I hope Justina sues the H*LL out of these people when she gets out.

This whole case infuriates me. WHY are they punishing this child this way. It is clearly obvious that she is getting WORSE in the hospital's care.

 

[jjenny]

“It’s hard for me to say this,” Justina’s father Lou told me Wednesday, “but a terrorist is getting better treatment in Massachusetts right now than a sick teenager who’s done nothing wrong.”

http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/opinion/op_ed/2014/04/graham_treated_worse_than_a_terrorist

 

[wendiesan]

Pelletier’s parents, who live in West Hartford, Conn., have insisted that their daughter suffers from mitochondrial disorder, a group of genetic ailments that affect how cells produce energy, often causing problems with the gut, brain and muscles. Pelletier’s physicians at Tufts Medical Center had been treating her for this illness for about a year, saying she exhibited many of its symptoms and were still in the midst of determining if she had a clear-cut case of this disorder.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/20...a-pelletier/fTFflhP08JCyJwoWVCeZnO/story.html

I had thought that it was an older diagnosis.

I did too. Dr. Phil has posted a statement from Dr. Dean Hokanson, Ph.D., former Chief Psychologist, Connecticut Children's Hospital who treated Justine since 2006 (according to the site.)

http://drphil.com/slideshows/slideshow/6848/?id=6848&showID=2193

http://guardianlv.com/2014/03/disma...r-custody-case-postponed-dcf-ignores-dr-phil/

 

[wendiesan]

Thanks for sharing your story SwampMama. Your perspective is invaluable.

 

[believe09]

Any publicity is good publicity, but why Dr Phil would imagine DCF would discuss this case with him is beyond my comprehension. He is a television personality. *shrug*

I think the bottom line here is that BCH and DCF cannot release Justina because of her physical and psychological deterioration. There may be aspects of both that are seemingly irreversible. As for those who wish to kidnap her from state custody, they are providing the state with a continued motive for holding her. If you care for Justina and her family, please stop.

I am energized that the families of children with metabolic disease are finding alternatives to BCH for the care of those fragile kids. This is as it should be.

It will take some very courageous law makers and a very courageous judge to reunite this family and to enforce the order to have Justina restart her treatment in order to try and rebuild her health. At this point, I think the water is too muddied to determine if there were any issues with her care prior to her kidnapping (imo) and mistreatment at the hands of BCH and DCF.

I appreciate all of you who continue to spotlight this case-I have been watching from afar, fwiw, and it is hard to imagine this taking place in the United States.

 

[txsvicki]

I did too. Dr. Phil has posted a statement from Dr. Dean Hokanson, Ph.D., former Chief Psychologist, Connecticut Children's Hospital who treated Justine since 2006 (according to the site.)

http://drphil.com/slideshows/slideshow/6848/?id=6848&showID=2193

http://guardianlv.com/2014/03/disma...r-custody-case-postponed-dcf-ignores-dr-phil/

There is a quote from the sister in one of these articles saying that Justina is now "paralyzed". If she is being forced to walk with a harness, then she is not literally paralyzed. I don't think such exaggerations should repeated or quoted by the media. It couldn't be helping.

 

[CHICANA]

I don't know all the facts of the case in explicit detail but I can see that Justina has deteriorated under the hospital's care. i can see that she has a loving family, sisters and friends that she loves and is being denied contact with them. I can see that a medical institution and staff have overstepped their boundaries by what they have done.

Justina is not a small child who is being physically or mentally abused. She is a young teen who should be old enough to express if she is being abused, old enough to know if she wants to refuse this hospital's care and go home be with her parents.

Can you imagine the torment she is going thru with all of this? How much mental damage is being done to this poor child by isolating her and ripping her out of her home and her life? You have NO idea how painful that can be for a teenager to be incarcerated and isolated when they have done NOTHING to deserve it. She is not guilty of anything, even if her parents were (and I do not believe they are) yet SHE is being punished and locked away, deprived of a normal life and normal teenage freedoms. She has no control over what happens to her at all.

In my case, the hospital knew I had great insurance and wanted the payout. I made a friend there who had insurance that covered 2 years of inpatient stay and she had to stay 24 months. basically, we all knew that you would be "cured" on the day your insurance ran out. What a freaking scam. i know Justina's case is not like that but i DO know that some hospital and doctors will do as they please and totally disregard what is right or what is best for the patient.

Actually, I do know some of what she is going thru. (Long story ahead)

Here is what I know about hospitals holding children hostage against their will when there is NO medical reason to do so. It happened to me when I was a teen. I was 17 years old, had graduated high-school a year before at age 16 and had a full-time job (and car) and was saving money to attend college. My mother did NOT want me to go to college (she wanted me to join the service). I refused. A week or two later she told me to pack a few clothes cuz we were going to visit my gram.

Instead we pulled up to a facility much like Justina is in. My mother apparently told them that I was doing drugs (I had never touched an illegal or recreational drug in my life), that i was partying all the time (nope, worked and came home, no friends, no boyfriends, NO social life at all (I was new in town and am a homebody anyway.) She told them I was suicidal and had threatened her. (Total BS. I was a bookworm who stayed to herself, in her room when not at work, I avoided her as much as possible).

Mom knew I was about to be 18 in a few months and that her rule over me was about to end. I had already looked into emancipation before but figured I would just wait out the year or so till I was 18. She figured if she could institutionalize me, have me declared mentally incompetent that she could retain control over me and get a SSI check too!

So there I was, a bright and motivated teen who had graduated from high school a year early by doing extra classes in summer and by correspondence, I had a fulltime job, had amazing SAT score, had never done drugs, gone out partying etc. But the hospital kept me for 72 hour "observation". I figured they would let me go after 72 hours since my bloodwork would not show any drugs and they could call my employer and/or school to see what kind of person i was.

Nope! Instead they investigated my insurance and found that it covered all expenses for 3 months of inpatient care. This was MY insurance from MY job, nothing from my mom at all. Sure all the drug test came back negative, they could find nothing wrong with me to diagnose me with but they kept me anyway. For three effing months!! I was declared miraculously cured the minute my insurance was up.

I spent 3 months on a unit with some very messed up kids who were nothing like me. Every aspect of my life was controlled, even when I could go to the bathroom because "rules were rules". I got to go outside maybe 3 times during that 3 months. They made me attend their joke of a high school even though I had graduated highschool the year before "cuz rules are rules, everyone must attend school". I had stuff stolen from me by staff.

Luckily i had a decent doctor. He told me that I could consult an attorney at any time to fight to get out but that my 3 months would be up before I would make any headway with a lawyer in the courts, in fact, fighting them might make it worse and cause other staff members to come down harder on me.

Justina does NOT belong in a place like this. She does NOT belong in an institution. It will damage her, probably for life. I bet she will develop a dislike or distrust of doctors and medical professionals. There in NO reason for her to be locked up this way and to be denied access to loved ones.

There are thousands of severely mentally ill children who need inpatient care and can't get it because the beds are full. We KNOW this is practically an epidemic. Parents of violent, mentrally ill kids can't get inpatient care and have to live in fear.

But yet, Justina, who is a threat to no one, is locked up like a criminal. I hope Justina sues the H*LL out of these people when she gets out.

This whole case infuriates me. WHY are they punishing this child this way. It is clearly obvious that she is getting WORSE in the hospital's care.

I hope she lives to sue the hell out of them

 

[wendiesan]

Pelletier’s parents, who live in West Hartford, Conn., have insisted that their daughter suffers from mitochondrial disorder, a group of genetic ailments that affect how cells produce energy, often causing problems with the gut, brain and muscles. Pelletier’s physicians at Tufts Medical Center had been treating her for this illness for about a year, saying she exhibited many of its symptoms and were still in the midst of determining if she had a clear-cut case of this disorder.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/20...a-pelletier/fTFflhP08JCyJwoWVCeZnO/story.html

I had thought that it was an older diagnosis.

Hey Donjeta.

I found another post that sheds more light on this. I was confusing times that the Pelletiers were searching for answers (or doctor shopping depending on your perspective) with the date when they found Dr. A. F. Flores at Tufts who eventually directed them to Dr. M. S. Korson.

Justina was receiving emotional support for her mild depression, likely connected to the mito symptoms, from Dr. Dean Hokanson (former Chief Psychologist, Connecticut Children's Medical Centre) from 2006 until BCH barred all former members of Justina's medical team from seeing her. (http://www.drphil.com/shows/show/2193/; http://foxct.com/2013/11/19/hospita...l-for-9-months-after-parents-argue-diagnosis/) Her condition became more complicated in 2010. At that time doctors at CCMC operated on Justina removing her appendix and a 20 inch band of cartilage that had been wrapped around her colon. (http://www.wvoc.com/onair/jonathon-kelly-49688/why-the-case-of-justina-pelletier-12192709) In 2011, doctors referred the Pelletiers to Dr. Flores who performed a cecostomy. Flores called in Dr. Korson (who was, and continues to be, Jessica Pelletier's patient and who also has mito). So, by the time Justina was taken by Bader 5, she had been in the care of Dr. Flores for about two years, and Dr. Korson for about a year and a half.

Interestingly, under the care of Dr. Korson, Justina had been physically active and involved in her school work, engaged with friends in a positive social life. After Bader 5, she could accomplish locking and unlocking her wheelchair and has been denied an education and kept in isolation from her social and spiritual communities. (http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20...l-uncertain/Y7qvYTGsq8QklkxUZvuUgP/story.html, http://www.wvoc.com/onair/jonathon-kelly-49688/why-the-case-of-justina-pelletier-12192709)

In spite of Judge Johnson ordering DCF to take Justina to see Dr. Korson, DCF continued to procrastinate. Recently, however, DCF relented and allowed one visit according to family spokesman, Patrick Mahoney “There is much concern that Korson wants to see Justina on a weekly basis, or at least once every two weeks, but MA-DCF are suggesting one visit every six to nine weeks,” he said.
(http://www.humanevents.com/2014/04/...-ailing-daughter-bay-state-democrats-hostage/)

 

[jjenny]

There is a quote from the sister in one of these articles saying that Justina is now "paralyzed". If she is being forced to walk with a harness, then she is not literally paralyzed. I don't think such exaggerations should repeated or quoted by the media. It couldn't be helping.

That's not accurate. Exercises with a harness can be used on paralyzed patients.

"Treadmill training uses repetitive motion to teach the legs how to walk again. A paralyzed person is suspended in a harness above a treadmill; this reduces the weight the legs will have to bear. As the treadmill begins to move, therapists move the person’s legs in a walking pattern. The theory that drives the work is that paralysis causes “learned non-use” of muscles. But the injured nervous system may be “plastic,” that is, capable of recovery when certain conditions, including the patterned neural activity that accompanies treadmill walking, are optimized."
http://www.christopherreeve.org/site/c.mtKZKgMWKwG/b.4453461/k.7C8E/Exercise_and_New_Function.htm

 

[wendiesan]

Any publicity is good publicity, but why Dr Phil would imagine DCF would discuss this case with him is beyond my comprehension. He is a television personality. *shrug*
snipped by me for space

Just jumping off from your first point. Since Dr. Phil has an international platform, IMO, he holds a significant amount of power in the formation of public opinion. Of course neither DCF nor BCH has any obligation to speak to him about this case. He, on the other hand, does have an obligation to publicize any official statement regarding the "other side" of this case. He read the BCH statement on air, and posted it on his website. If he hadn't made the offer, BCH could claim that he had no interest in presenting a more complete explanation of the situation.

http://www.drphil.com/slideshows/slideshow/6847/?id=6847&showID=2193

As I read the statement again, I noticed that BCH did not point out the role that their doctors played in putting Justina into a locked psychiatric ward in the first place. Neither did BCH mention that in all the months that this young woman was held against her will, against her parents' will, against the advice of her formal medical team, IMO it appears that BCH doctors and other staff have done nothing to allow Justina's education to continue. This certainly goes against federal law in the USA. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Justina still qualifies for the Individual Education Program even though BCH was responsible for removing Justina from the private school in which she had been enrolled. (http://www2.ed.gov/parents/needs/speced/iepguide/index.html) Since the IEP involves collaboration and oversight, it's possible that DCF bears equal or more responsibility than Bader 5 in this sad situation.

 

[liljim]

"IMO it appears that BCH doctors and other staff have done nothing to allow Justina's education to continue"

please cite all the evidence you are aware of to prove this point.

this is a very often repeated accusation, and if true it certainly would be a big deal, so it would be nice to have all of the evidence there is to support it in one place.

all i am aware of is that the parents claim she has received no education while hospitalized. but there must be more than this to support it that i have missed.

 

[liljim]

"Of course neither DCF nor BCH has any obligation to speak to him about this case."

not only do they not have any obligation to do so, they are legally bound not to.

 

[jjenny]

"Of course neither DCF nor BCH has any obligation to speak to him about this case."

not only do they not have any obligation to do so, they are legally bound not to.

Yes, DCF has such a good deal going. They can remove a child from parents and don't have any obligation to explain why.
Today it's Justina. Whose child is it going to be tomorrow?