A case of the Willeys

Eventually, two pediatricians, one allergist, one cardiologist and no less than six neurologists later, Kennedy was diagnosed with Dravet syndrome. This was not good news. For parent or child, Dravet can be a terrifying diagnosis.

The prognosis is anything but encouraging, the mortality rate is exceptionally high — 15-20% — with most dying suddenly while asleep, and seizures are severe, lifelong, and generally bring a host of developmental, behavioral and medical issues affecting every aspect of the child’s life.

Most children with Dravet are given anti-epileptic medications, even though Dravet does not tend to be responsive to medications. After reading story after story of children for whom medications made little to no difference, Kennedy’s mother, Dawn, felt there had to be a better way.

Through a series of fortunate events (apologies to Lemony Snicket), she was led back to her chiropractor and DAN! (Defeat Autism Now!) doctor who was eager to help, and the two struck up a collaborative relationship. Over time, they came to believe that Kennedy, like so many other medically complex children, had a “compromised gut” and if her gut were healed her health could be greatly improved. They started her on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) and eventually transitioned to the Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) diet.

The results of her diet change approached the miraculous. Dawn estimates that Kennedy’s symptoms improved about 98%, with a huge reduction in frequency, duration, and intensity of her seizures. In addition, they no longer occurred randomly throughout the day, but typically occurred only when she was asleep. Children with Dravet’s are expected to regress from age two onwards due to the tremendous stress the seizures put on the developing nervous system.

Kennedy, however, has been beating the odds. She is now seven years old and generally lives a full “normal” life with her family in California. She attends a regular school, took surfing lessons in Costa Rica, plays tennis and the piano, and loves to swim and ride her bike...

But life is always a little precarious with a severe chronic illness, and recently the Willey family came face to face with their worst nightmare. Last week Kennedy experienced an increase in seizures. The seizures began “clustering” requiring medical attention. On Thursday, April 21, she was taken to her local hospital, but they decided she needed to transfer to a larger hospital: Children’s Hospital of California (CHOC) – Orange County...

That was when Dawn had had enough. She says she ran in and stepped in front of the nurse who was trying to do as the doctor had ordered. The next thing they knew a neurologist came into the room yelling about getting a court order if they continued interfering with Kennedy’s care. At 11 p.m. that night, a representative from Child Protection Services allegedly knocked on their door and interviewed the underslept, overstressed parents about their “medical neglect” until 1 a.m...

After the CPS visit, the Willeys knew they had to get Kennedy away from CHOC... They formulated a plan to move her to UCSF in San Francisco and hired an independent medical advocate and two attorneys...

They realized that they were fighting for Kennedy’s life. Carl asked the PICU pediatrician if he thought Kennedy was stable enough to be airlifted to another hospital and he said yes.

Carl met with the pediatrician saying, “I beg you to save my daughter’s life and release her. You have the power to do this because you are in charge on my daughter’s floor.” 

After hours of battle, the doctor finally agreed to release Kennedy. The transfer would happen the next morning. However, delay after delay kept them at the hospital till mid-afternoon, and before they left, Kennedy was given a final high dose of medications, taking her to toxic levels. Kennedy finally arrived in San Francisco on Wednesday (April 29th) and has reportedly been receiving excellent care since then. She is eating real food and smiling again.

One might think that this would mean the Willeys could breathe a sigh of relief, with their nightmare finally over.

Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case. Last night (April 30th) Kennedy’s pediatrician at UCSF came to the Willeys and told them that CHOC had called CPS in San Francisco accusing the Willeys of “severe medical neglect,” saying that among other ridiculous charges they had “denied all meds.”

The representative from CPS in San Francisco interviewed the Willeys and agreed with everyone at UCSF that the Willeys were exceptional parents, CHOC’s complaint was “totally unfounded,” constituting blatant harassment, and the case would be closed.

The Willeys hope this may finally be the end of their nightmare, but they wonder about the next unsuspecting family? ...

The Willeys just want to have the freedom to choose their own medical care and treatment plan without being threatened by CPS because of over-zealous medical authorities who believe their treatments are the only ones available. They do not believe that doctors should try to coerce parents into accepting their methods and pharmaceutical products when other options are available.

 - See more at: http://healthimpactnews.com/2015/cps-threatens-to-kidnap-7-year-old-in-california-when-parents-try-to-transfer-to-different-hospital/#sthash.JlNMfgyI.dpuf

http://medicalkidnap.com/2015/05/01/cps-threatens-to-kidnap-7-year-old-in-california-when-parents-try-to-transfer-to-different-hospital/