OR - 'Extreme Makeover' family accused of medical child abuse

[Missizzy]

I've never heard of it but I guess it certainly makes sense when a person is attempting to qualify for benefits and insurance--or a fancy house makeover. That's why contact numbers are always asked for. You have to wonder how many times these reports are thoroughly checked.

That could certainly be the reason these reports were not accepted as evidence in Oregon. However, if Oregon realized or proved that they were bogus, I'd think that the Cerdas would be facing charges of forgery. I always wondered why the judge would not allow them in.

Something that I simply cannot ignore is that there have been some comments under the earlier articles that Terri told a number of people that the girls were not their biological children. Why would she do this if it weren't true? And if they aren't her biological children, why would she have the same disease? They certainly look as if they could be children by birth, but who knows?

The reason this really bothers me is that my background is in adoption subsidy/post placement service advocacy. If these girls were adopted from the system, they'd qualify for very high "specialized" subsidies and services, in addition to their parents' insurance, if these medical conditions were truly present. If they were adopted privately, however, they would not qualify. It's a federal program managed at the state level for special needs or hard to place children.

A number of adoptive mothers (including the three I've known), who have suspected MBP, have greatly exaggerated their adopted children's very real illnesses. Two specifically adopted only very fragile children but then went on to exacerbate the problems to a great degree--literally living at the hospitals and talking to no one except doctors.

I've read nothing about the girls before they were four and six and it would seem to me that these children would have been showing symptoms from birth if either of these diseases is present. Terri would have been in her 40s when the girls were born.

 

[Missizzy]

This case weighs on my mind. I was just doing some checking and found that there've been a number of new comments listed on the Oregonian site--including one from a man who claims to have worked building the new house. He claims that the mold even made him sick. A number of others highly question what's going on:

http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamas...ounty_a_case_of_med/2793/comments-newest.html



In further digging, I found a detailed blog post about the family:

http://extremefakeover.blogspot.com/2009/11/extreme-makeover-house-being-flipped.html

Some very interesting information about who Terri bought the original house from in NV; her father. Also some interesting info about the housekeeping around the girls and the license plates on the family vehicle. Why WA state? Oh, they got a new car out of the deal too.



The two girls were also recipients of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Nevada:

"....M and M were both granted wishes a few years ago by Make a Wish of Southern Nevada..."


According to this site, the children have to have extensive medical proof of a life-threatening illness. Hmmmm. I wonder what they wished for?

http://www.wish.org/refer/who_is_eligible

 

[Missizzy]

I ran across this forum thread, from 4 months ago:

http://parent-2-parent.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-3998.html?

January 29-30, 2011

"....Everything has gotten very complicated and we have been told, in no uncertain terms, that if she gets sick again before she starts treatment, she can die with little to no warning. The top dogs in immunology had a phone conference over the situation this past week. She was seen at UCLA for 7 years and they want her back there immediately. We asked if we could try (again) to get her in to Seattle to a different immunologist and they said she does not have time to wait to become established there...."

It sounds as if travel to UCLA was a life or death situation, according to the little girl's doctor. Nine other posters jump in to try to help arrange a medical flight and to offer excellent and creative advice but nothing at all seems to work for Terri. Several people seem to come up with very divergent info about special flights than she does. She also says that her insurance has just changed and that they're going to consider driving.

The drive from Portland to LA is a long haul--1100 miles over several mountain ranges. It strikes me as odd that the doctors supposedly fear for this child's life and order the family to deliver the child to them immediately. Portland is home to Doernbecher Hospital, one of the most highly respected children's hospitals in the US. Oregon Health & Science University runs a pediatric immunology clinic there. There's also a number of other trauma equipped and pediatric hospitals up on Pill Hill and Shriners. Portland is hardly in the medical hinterlands. But it sounds as if Terri is totally unwilling to use local doctors for the children, if they do not agree with her 100%.

If the doctors at UCLA were so intent on admitting this child for the purpose of preventing a cytokine storm (a common problem with immune disorders), why were't they willing to testify (even by phone or by letter) concerning this medical emergency? After all, UCLA is where the lung surgery occurred, according to Terri.



I just checked the original Oregonian article and found this:

"...In January [2011], Dr. Thomas Valvano, an OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital pediatrician who specializes in suspected child abuse and neglect, reported the Cerdas to state child-welfare authorities, and in February, the state took temporary custody of the two girls...."

So, as Terri was writing a frantic post about needing to get to California, the State was moving in to remove the children from her care. Possibly, the girls never made it to that appointment.

 

[marycarney]

snipped from the about post"
< her CO2 drops, her O2 sats drop,>

IF this alleged crisis condition is truly a result of 'her airways collapsing' then you would NOT see Co2 levels DROP - you would see them INCREASE!!!
Airway collapse would result in the exchange of gasses being impaired. In other words, oxygen cannot get IN efficiently and conversely the carbon dioxide would not efficiently be exhaled.

And exactly where are these people now? Back in Vegas???

 

[Missizzy]

I'm appalled. I just read about 10 or so posts from earlier this year and the diagnoses bandied about were cystic fibrosis, mitochondrial disease, frequent pneumonia, lupus, ototoxicity, PA colonizations, hypercytokinemia, rheumatoid arthritis and Combined Immune Deficiency....on and on and on. She discusses IV treatments, nebulizer treatments, antibiotics, infusions, medications taken prophylactically and upcoming muscle biopsies. It's mentioned in passing that this has been going on for years. I don't want to cut and paste all of the supposed diseases but if you are interested all you have to do is google~parent-2-parent cerdaclan. It's so sad as I'm sure all the other parents on this board have genuinely sick children. They seem to try to help again and again.

I'm very hopeful that these posts were used as evidence. Heck. My head is spinning. These were all within the month that the state stepped in and took the kids. But they're back with her now and in another state. That simply cannot be safe.

 

[Missizzy]

Marycarney--Thank you. I want people with medical knowledge to look at these posts. I know a bit about some of it--but only a bit. I was fortunate to have physically healthy kids, for the most part (a few of our children have serious diagnoses but the diagnoses have never been questioned--CP, deafness, Marfan's, Type 1 Diabetes--and were diagnosed when they were very young). We just dealt with them and moved on. I've watched other families deal with chronic illness but they handle it far differently than Terri seems to. Of course a parent must be cautious with a frail child's health but the focus needs to be on the child--not the illness, IMO. What about a childhood? What about fun? No wonder they were out back, barefooted and eating things they shouldn't. Their mother probably turned her back for a minute and they made a run for it.

I, more than anyone, understand the "quest" for a diagnosis as it took three years for my central nervous system disease to be diagnosed. It was brutal and tremendously frustrating but I'm an adult and I made choices, every step of the way. My husband and I would put all our energy into it for a few months and then take a break. We went to local specialists, OHSU in Portland and finally to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Because we have an adult son with multiple sclerosis, doctors assumed that I had MS but it was atypical. I know how confusing and upsetting "atypical" diseases can be and how frustrating inconclusive tests can be (especially when they're spinal taps!!). But then my seizures started and that finally defined the diagnosis--Spinocerebellar Ataxia, a rare hereditary and hard to diagnosis disease. I got the diagnosis but there's no treatment. So, my family made a plan for me and we deal. It's done. There are grandchildren and puppies to think about, novels to be read, articles to write.

But I'm an adult. I've lived my life. And I took breaks. I chose which tests I wanted to undergo and which I didn't. I loathed the process and got in and out of those hospitals and clinics as fast as possible. This woman seems to literally glow with excitement about what most of us dread. I hate to see these beautiful little girls' entire life taken up by this focus on every teeny detail of their health. There are ways to be sick/disabled or to raise sick/disabled children and still maintain a happy, upbeat and healthy home. There's a way to exhibit grace under pressure and then there's.....this.

Because I've seen MBP up close, I know there's not going to be any change at all until an agency, or possibly family, steps in to stop this charade. These children have effectively spent their entire lives "sick" while their father, grandfather, neighbors AND most doctors don't see the illness. They are, by all accounts, back in Nevada with their mother. Now what?

Someone is very sick here but I'm afraid it's not the little girls.

 

[marycarney]

I also should mention that - unless a person has an artificial airway (tracheostomy or endotracheal tube) there is no means of measuring exhaled CO2 at home. None.

 

[Missizzy]

I wish I could stop reading these but they haunt me:

http://parent-2-parent.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-3346.html

"...I am really worried about her. She is on many medications and I worry she will damage her kidneys. I have kidney failure and I know she is at risk. IVIG is VERY hard on kidneys, especially if there is something that predisposes them to damage. I am worried about her health in general and I know that much of the reason she feels so terrible all the time is because she is dehydrated...."

"....Oh my gosh! Yesterday, I discussed the recommendations for IV fluids for Molly when she is sick with the new ped. Molly refuses to drink enuf fluid during the day normally (when not sick). He had the same response: "now that, I can do something about. That is a behavioral issue". It is the first time someone said that!!!!! When I talked to the mito doc about it, she explained that it is a combination of issues that include dysautonomia (the neurological trigger to feel thirsty and drink is not working) and the slow GI motility causes the urge to eat or drink to decline...."

"....We actually did things a bit backwards. We got the specialists first (because we moved and knew what we needed), then the ped. LOL. We have a pulmo and a rheumy. We need to find a GI doc in our new town, but have great notes from their previous ped. We avoid the ER like the plague! My 8 yo contracted rotavirus when she was 2 because she was put next to a kid with rota in the ER when my kid was there for a mild concussion. The result was 9 days in ICU in a coma with a fever of 106 that they could not break with medication. She had to be packed in ice. HORRIFIC> We try to manage everything at home....We have IV stuff, oxygen, pulse ox, airway clearance systems, nebs etc.....(well hidden in closets!). We also have an issue with tachycardia in one kid that has not been evaled. THe other has arrythmias and was dx'd with right axial deviation by cardio. We are working through the kinks....one at a time. But we MUCH prefer to do things at home. Thankfully, the mito doc and ped as well as the pulmo are on the same page and have agreed to allow us to manage as much as we can at home...."




And it appears that the children are birth children. There's mention of nursing (poorly) at the link above and I found this from 2002:

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/whidbey/swr/news/21588909.html

Clinton family seeks stolen pet
April 30, 2003 [10 months after the pet went missing]

"It's not knowing what happened to her that is very difficult for our family," said Clinton resident Terri Cerda. Cerda was talking about the family's dog, Sarah, which was apparently stolen from the Clinton ferry dock sometime between June 22 and June 23, 2002. Cerda is convinced her dog was taken by someone with connections to Whidbey Island...."

and

"....Cerda gave birth to the couple's second daughter a few days before the dog was taken. "It was a month of joy for our family when we welcomed our beautiful daughter into our family, and we were a little distracted, too," Cerda said...."

and

"....The dog has a medical condition called hypothyroidism and will become very ill without medication. Cerda rescued Sarah, who had been in and out of seven animal shelters due to the medical condition, when she was 3 years old. Cerda said she is not certain Sarah can survive without medication....."

more at link




So, Terri had an older dog with a medical condition and the family let it wander the docks alone? By her own account, she is an experienced rescue dog handler. That seems out of character. Many older dogs have low thyroid and take a daily thyroid tablet. My guess is that if someone cared enough to rescue a dog looking as Terri described this dog, they would get it evaluated.

Also note that this implies they lived in Clinton, Washington. That might explain the WA license plates on the family's cars while in Nevada. At least one neighbor mentioned that.

My guess is that the numerous dogs (which seem to come and go) suffer some of the same treatment and obsession over health issues that the girls do.

 

[marycarney]

snipped from the above post
<and was dx'd with right axial deviation by cardio>

Right AXIS deviation of the heart is in most cases (99%), a harmless variation on the EKG. If I'm the ICU nurse, in no way, shape or form would I even THINK of calling to report this to the physician.
Not trying to be picky - just trying to point out some subtle points in the posts. Wait. Maybe I am trying to be picky

 

[forthelost]

Hypothyroidism is very common in dogs, and it's rarely fatal. The worst that could happen is the dog would become very overweight and lethargic.

 

[Missizzy]

forthelost....Exactly. It's a common, typically minor disorder which is easily held in check with a daily pill. If the pills are not taken, the dog gains weight and would certainly exhibit symptoms that any caring caregiver would notice. But, Terri's response to the dog's disorder is identical to the way she responds to her children's "illnesses". Nothing is ever going well. No one is ever healthy. Death is at the door every moment of the day. If it's not one disorder or disease, it's another.

I've learned a lot by reading about this woman. I feel voyeuristic but she must have wanted to leave a trail of her troubles or she wouldn't have been so open. I've been very cautious to never use her girls' names but she does. The national news does. That's quite sad when you think about it. These girls are going to be adults in a few years. How will they respond to their notoriety?

 

[marycarney]

Yeah - it reminds me of when we were in college in the 70's. Just to get a rise out of people at our very conservative preacher-training college, we would tell people we had 'engaged in premarital interdigitation' (holding hands before marriage).

 

[Missizzy]

This is one of those times when I really hope that someone in authority is reading WS. I know that DHS doesn't have unlimited time to run all this info down. Well, I've provided links to public sites. I've snipped from them, in case they disappear.

I'm a mandated reporter and I certainly wouldn't hesitate to call in anything new but the report's already been made. Surely, the judge had most of this information. I wish the doctors and other health care professionals might stumble upon this thread. I think it would give them a broader picture than the one provided them. I feel badly for all the forum posters who tried so hard to give Terri the help she said she needed. They all seemed genuinely caring and responsive while dealing with their own children's health challenges.

I'm assuming that we won't hear anything new unless the children are removed.

 

[LCoastMom]

Missizzy - You have accumulated quite the file; could I suggest that you make a copy of everything and forward it to the DA's office? We cannot begin to assume someone else has found everything you did, or is even looking. My hinky meter was tripped on this one from the beginning - knowing she is alone with these poor children cannot be good for them.

You commented on the difficult travel from Portland to LA, I was thinking the same about tripping between Vegas & LA with 2 critically ill children (or even just one) it doesn't make sense...

Re Teri commenting that the girls were adopted, or not biologically hers/theirs - donor eggs maybe? My bff from high school is a pathological liar, she once told a group of coworkers about her miracle test tube baby, all I could say was I know her husband knows nothing about it! I could go on and on, the attention these women need and get creates a vicious cycle. Those poor kids.

 

[Missizzy]

LCoastMom--That's actually very good advice. I've learned that when I find myself getting really worried about whether LE has "seen everything", I really just need to call it in. I always feel so much better when I do. That way, I know I've done all I can do. I'll put it all together and check with our local DHS as to where to forward it.

Thanks, I really needed to be reminded of the importance of taking this to the next step, just to be cautious.

 

[Missizzy]

While looking for a resource for another thread I ran across this:

http://www.childwelfare.gov/can/perpetrators/perp_munchausen.cfm

It's an entire page of links about MBP from government and scientific studies. I haven't ever seen most of these articles. Very interesting. Such a perplexing disorder.

 

[MissJames]

Thank you guys. I've been pretty clear that most of our special needs children have severe behavioral issues, rather than physical maladies. We do, however, have a son with one of the most perplexing types of Type 1 Diabetes ever. He came to us at age 7 and was chronically ill because of his disease. We were told that he had a very short life expectancy (which thank heaven, he has disproved). At one point he developed a very odd component to his diabetes and had to be hospitalized many many times. Because we live in far Southern Oregon and all our specialized pediatric hospitals are in Portland (300 miles north) we had to be separated from him for days at a time. His blood sugar just did not make any sense and his other symptoms were as strange as could be. I already knew about MBP and I brought it up. We told the doctors that while we loved our son dearly and wanted him to get well, we wanted everyone to be on the same page concerning our commitment to his health. There's not a doubt in my mind that some doctors or medical staff didn't wonder if we were following through with doctor's orders.

The upshot is that our son's blood sugar and symptoms just worsened in the hospital--even on a central line--and away from his family. His blood sugar would swing from 29 to 750 in 30 minutes. The doctors swore they'd never seen anything like it. We'd told them but it was good for them to see for themselves. We received computer readouts of his glucose readings and it was shocking. He finally got a diagnosis and has somewhat grown out of the strange symptoms. His diabetes is just as wacky as ever, though. He's been to hell and back and I'm proud to say that he's my son. He's quite a survivor, on many levels.

I think that every parent of a chronically ill child needs to know of this disorder and to not be offended when the issue is raised. I think the tell tale sign for me was that I despised the hospital and always got him out and home as soon as possible. Heck, when he'd take a nap, I was out of there and down at Powell's Books in a heartbeat and I sure wasn't in the medical section (poetry and knitting)!! We've never made a big issue out of medical conditions. We just deal with them and move on to more important or more "fun" stuff.

On the subject of MBP, I remembered that we had another case out of Oregon and checked our archives. Here's a few articles and a link to our thread.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/portland_woman_faces_charges_i.html

Aloha woman faces charges in morphine-poisoning of infant daughter


http://www.oregonlive.com/washingtoncounty/index.ssf/2009/08/father_of_poisoned_baby_is_ide.html

Father of poisoned baby is identified


Note: This article discussed another assault my the same woman in CA--changing states again. Also this statement:

"...Dillard-Lubin worked as a medical assistant at Oregon Pediatrics in Northeast Portland..."

And this was AFTER being found guilty in CA of harming her child!! Interesting comments under all the articles too.


And the outcome:

http://www.oregonlive.com/washingtoncounty/index.ssf/2009/12/woman_admits_poisoning_her_bab.html

Woman admits poisoning second baby with morphine


And our thread:

Woman admits poisoning her baby with morphine -- again - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community



ETA: I just updated our other thread with some new info. Seems like the other woman with MBP, Sara Dillard, also had Munchausen Disorder (meaning that she claimed a fictitious disorder for herself). She persuaded the father of her child (a cardiologist) that she was critically ill. This is truly a very very tragic disorder and hurts so many.

I'm late to this thread and a tad nauseous at the subject matter.
I have also fostered and adopted special needs children and our youngest is very complex. I have to say,I work hard to keep him out of the hospital and slim line dr appts as much as possible. I can't grasp WANTING to be at the drs or in the hospital,but have read about MBP cases before.
I'm scared for these girls.

BTW...my Mom had type 1 diabetes and lived to be 86 years young ! From the beginning (before I was born) she ate from an exchange list and was religious about following it. I mean,if she only had a half slice of bread allowed,that's all she ate. Before they had glucose testing they had urine strips .Before glucose gel she kept M &M's in her purse for low blood sugar. She never had anything with sugar in it. Nothing. I grew up on unsweetened tea in the South! And she walked ,fast, every day until a month before she died.

Medicine has much more to offer diabetics now, than my Mom had when she was diagnosed in 1954.She had to sterilize a glass syringe! Now they have pumps. I hope your son has a wonderful ,looooong life,like my Mom did!

 

[Missizzy]

I've learned to take diagnoses with a grain of salt, MissJames. My kids seem to keep disproving them. And you're right about the hospital. Who is heckola wants to hang out there?

Remember the hand wringing over "crack babies" (not my term...I'd far rather they be described as children who were prenatally exposed to substances). Anyway, of our seven who were exposed to crack, each one has gone on to develop gifts we never thought possible. I really try to minimize diagnoses and just try to get on with a full life. Do what needs to be done and get back to normal, for the children's sake.

Speaking of MBP, it has to be one of the most insidious forms of child abuse. The tragedy is that the parent truly can't help it and requires swift and very firm intervention. I'm preparing some info to send on to Nevada to see if that might help as I'm very concerned about those children. When I read some of the articles at the links I posted above, it seems that Terri Cerda has a textbook case. If there's not family willing to take in those beautiful girls, they need to be in a foster home, now, before it's too late.

BTW, I'm highly impressed by your mother's "adventure" with diabetes. That's tremendously impressive. I recently bought a vintage book on Type 1 Diabetes from the 1920s. Oh my, have we come a long way.

 

[marycarney]

So, I'm gonna bump this post up and see if anyone has anything new about this family.

We're discussion MBP and MBI(nternet) on a couple of other threads - and I thought about this case.

 

[Blue_Dolphin308]

I would also like to know if there is anything new on this family?