M A C K E N Z I E | O H I O
“October 12th, 2024 will forever be the worst day of our lives. Our 3-week-old, Henry, had woken up with a bruise on his temple (which ended up disappearing in 24 hours). That, along with a few other symptoms such as a yellowish tint to his eyes and pale skin, led us to believe he was deficient in vitamin K so we took him to the children’s hospital. We didn’t know our lives were about to change forever.
After tests were run, the hospital found Henry had multiple fractures that we were unable to explain. Because we had no idea Henry even had them or what they could have been from, they chalked them up to being from abuse.
For the next 5 days, we sat in the hosptial not given any explanation or help. We were terrified for our baby. How could we not know he was fractured? Was he going to be okay? Why was no one helping him? Why was testing not being done? No one would listen. Not a single person heard our pleas to help our child or looked into any genetic, birth, or any other medical explanations. The most horrifying thing for a parent to experience.
My husband, Noah, and I were questioned by police and took lie detector tests, which we both passed. Our house was searched and we were treated like criminals all while trying to figure out what was wrong with our baby.
Meanwhile, doctors were telling us that things didn’t make sense and Henry was presenting as not typical. They said things like ‘he shouldn’t be able to move his arm like that’, ‘he should have bruising’, ‘he has signs of a genetic disorder’. But because there was no clear explanation, non-accidental trauma was ruled.
Our baby was taken into state custody and put into placement with my mom. For three painful and soul-crushing months, we could only see Henry for 3-4 hours a day. We left for home every night crying and trying to find a way out of this nightmare. During these first few months, I was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. Noah and I both having nightmares and flashbacks daily. We are in a constant state of fear and dread. We have missed precious moments and time with our first child that we will never get back.
In January 2025, CPS agreed to drop the abuse charge, but we had to agree to dependency for them to do so. We only agreed because this was the only way CPS would let us have 24/7 supervised time with our baby. We were given no option but to agree to something we did not do if we wanted to be back with him. For months, we packed up our things and moved from house to house to make sure we were always able to be supervised by a family member. CPS continued to deny additional testing and second opinions, until the judge ordered them to do so.
When we got second opinions, the number of ‘fractures’ began diminishing. Noah and I did genetic and other testing for ourselves. I was diagnosed with Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder that increases the chances of fractures (especially in places where Henry’s fractures were). A disorder that Henry had a 50% chance of inheriting. We spoke with renowned geneticists to help us better understand EDS and we were told Henry has MANY signs pointing to having it.
Right now we’re not able to get additional testing/proper diagnosis because our parental rights have been revoked. We have not received the permission needed to have Henry seen by the specialists who can help. We are continuing to fight every single day to get our baby back. We don’t know when this will end.
Our next court date is coming up on April 1st. We are sharing this now for support and prayers. Please keep our family in your prayers.
We would not have made it this far without our most loving and supportive family. I love you all so much. More than you’ll ever know.”
Hi everyone. My name is Leah, and this is my brother and his wife's awful nightmare. I am creating this go fund me to help raise money for their legal fees . PLEASE donate, share, tell a friend. Anything helps us to try to get my sweet nephew home. Thank you!
