Baby taken from parents who wanted 2nd doctor's opinion

[The Straight Story]

SACRAMENTO, CA (KXTV) - A Sacramento family was torn apart after a 5-month-old baby boy was taken from his parents following a visit to the doctor.

The young couple thought their problems were behind them after their son had a scare at the hospital, but once they got home their problems got even worse.

...

Anna said Sammy suffers from a heart murmur and had been seeing a doctor at Sutter for regular treatment since he was born. After Sammy was treated for flu symptoms last week, doctors at Sutter admitted him to the pediatric ICU to monitor his condition. After a few days, Anna said doctors began talking about heart surgery.

"If we got the one mistake after another, I don't want to have my baby have surgery in the hospital where I don't feel safe," Anna said.

Anna argued with doctors about getting a second opinion. Without a proper discharge, she finally took Sammy out of the hospital to get a second opinion at Kaiser Permanente.

...

"I was pushed against the building, smacked down. I said, 'am I being placed under arrest?' He smacked me down onto the ground, yelled out, 'I think I got the keys to the house,'" Alex said.

Then police let themselves inside.

On home video shot with a camera Anna set up herself, police can be seen entering her front door on Wednesday.

"I'm going to grab your baby, and don't resist, and don't fight me ok?" a Sacramento police officer said in the video.

"He's like, 'okay let your son go,' so I had to let him go, and he grabbed my arm, so I couldn't take Sammy. And they took Sammy, and they just walked away," Anna said.


http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/377456/28/Baby-taken-from-parents-who-wanted-2nd-doctors-opinion-

The baby was put into care at the original hospital (the one that wanted to do an unnecessary operation).

[elleng]

1. WTF???

[midnight]

2. I hardly know what to think about what the state of California is doing here. I hope a good

legal advisor has seen this and will come to their aid...

[PDJane]

3. Just overreach or police state?

[SheilaT]

4. Why do I feel that there is something seriously missing in this story?

However, leaving the hospital AMA (Against Medical Advice) is one thing if you're removing just yourself, another if you're removing a child. Nonetheless, doctors not willing to get a second opinion, unless the surgery is necessary on an emergency basis, also raises questions.

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. That's part of the pattern.

I rarely even click on these threads anymore.

[Fumesucker]

23. Your OP about gardening tools didn't have all the facts either

Should I stop clicking on your threads?

[proud2BlibKansan]

25. If it's part of a pattern, yes you should.

[Zoeisright]

15. Oh yeah.

There has to be more. If parents can withhold medical attention from their children and PRAY about it until the child dies, there's no way this makes sense.

[cali]

5. we'll see, but that story is completely from the side of the parents

I'd like to hear the other side.

[FarPoint]

6. Agreed...

Child Protection Services has more than they can handle on a slow day.... so it would surprise me that an overzealous case manager could remove a child so easily. There are checks and balances with such a decision.

[RILib]

10. not the first time I've heard

of the state bureaucrats with authoritarian complexes messing up.

[jeff47]

20. No, CPS is very quick to "pull the trigger"

Think about the incentives they have to work under. If they don't react to a report, and it turns out the kid is abused or neglected, they are raked over the coals.

Sure, they don't have time to thoroughly investigate their cases, but they'll seize children quickly, "just in case".

[silverweb]

7. Ditto that.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]I feel sure some critical part of this story is missing in this telling.

[burnodo]

9. did you watch the video?

Seems pretty clearly a hospital SNAFU

[ca3799]

13. I don't agree

The baby is small, underfed (15 ml in a day?!) and has a diagnosed ASD/VSD and patent foramen ovale, and loud murmurs. Tghe mom left AMA (against medical advice). The hospital would be negligent if it did not report her to CPS for a neglect investigation. Hospitals, doctors and nurses are mandated reporters by law. The mom claimed the hospital made mistakes but never said what those mistakes were. Her only specific complaint was about why her baby got an antibiotic.

The video is edited to make the cops look bad, and I have no doubt the parents are scared and worried about doing the right thing, but leaving AMA with a sick baby from a hospital with a questionable excuse is not a good way to show responsible parenting.

You can see part of the baby's medical record in the video if you pause it. That baby is sick.

[LisaL]

17. Nobody, including the parents, is arguing that the baby is healthy.

His mother took him to another hospital.
Doctor in that hospital said it was fine for baby to go home.
Where is the neglect?

[jeff47]

19. Neglect that was only apparent after they left AMA?

The kid's been seen regularly by doctors for his entire life. How come no previous doctor reported neglect? How come the hospital didn't report neglect until the parents left? If there was neglect, it would have been reported before the parents left.

[LisaL]

18. That's not true.

They have a doctor's opinion from the second hospital that it was fine for the baby to go home with his parents.

[pediatricmedic]

8. Not sure what to think, we have used police to get kids as well

How sure are we that the operation was unnecessary? Without knowing the condition, I couldn't say if that was true or not. For several conditions, surgery is quite necessary for the survival of the child.

In each case where we have used the police, the parents do lose custody and CPS takes over.

Lot of information missing from this story.

[jeff47]

21. Well, the 2nd doctor said the kid was healthy enough to go home

Either that doctor is grossly incompetent, or the operation was not needed in the short run.

[ca3799]

11. Too soon to make a judgement... (more)

1)There is a bit of some of that baby's medical record in the report. If you pause the video, you can read it. It says the baby has an atrial septal defect, a ventral septal defect and a patent foramen ovale of the heart. Those can be very big deals. The baby looks small and thin for a 5 month old. Another part of the report said the baby had only taken in 15 mls of formula for the day. That is only one half of an ounce- far too little to sustain a growing baby. The report also said the baby had three wet diapers that day. I would be surprised at that many wet diapers for a baby with a very small fluid intake. The baby is on lasix, a diuretic, and digoxin, a heart medicine. I'm sure the lasix caused the wet diapers, but the baby still needs more than 15 mls of formula.

2) The mother left the first hospital AMA, or against medical advice, with an infant with a heart defect that possibly needs surgery. She said they had made mistakes, but did not say what those mistakes were. She talked only about one specific issue- about the nurse 'not knowing why' she was administering antibiotics. I find this hard to believe.

3)This first hospital would be negligent if it did not report the mother to CPS. They did not know she took the baby somewhere else. All they know is she took an infant in need of hear surgery away. CPS does indeed need to follow up.

4) I found the whole idea of leaving a video camera on strange. Certainly that clip is cut in such a way to make the cops not look so good. Did they just walk in? We don't know that by the way the video is cut. Did they take the baby? Yes. Were they too aggressive about it? I don't know. The clip is cut. But I think they needed to in this case until it is clear that the parents are following up with the baby's heart condition.

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. Yes. Thank you.

[LisaL]

16. But she did take baby to another hospital and police/CPS knew that.

The doctor in that other hospital said it was o'key for baby to go home. So what right did CPS have to take this baby?

[jeff47]

22. Sure, as long as you ignore the entire 2nd hospital visit.

The cops and CPS know the baby was taken to another hospital. They also know the result of that other visit - that doctor said the kid could go home.

Second, the report was "severe neglect", not "we think the baby needs surgery". Yet that neglect was only apparent when the parents took the baby. Which is odd, because the hospital would have had to report the neglect long before the parents left AMA if there was "severe neglect".

Third, AMA isn't severe neglect even if the parents just went home. They're allowed to refuse medical care.

[eqfan592]

24. CPS is an organization with FAR too little oversight.

Any organization that can simply remove a child from a parents custody needs better oversight, period. That isn't a commentary on this particular case, but on CPS in general.