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<div style="CLEAR: both"><FONT color=black size=4 face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif"><FONT size=4>For those of you who heard this story in Dallas, here is an update.</FONT></div>
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<div><FONT size=4>Lenora</FONT></div>
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<H1 style="MARGIN-TOP: 4px; DISPLAY: block; FONT: bold 12px/1.16em Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); TEXT-DECORATION: none" class=Headline>Visually Impaired Couple Wins Baby Back From State</H1>
<H2 style="FONT: bold 18px Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" class=SubHead><I>Erika Johnson, Blake Sinnett Were Reported To Children's Services</I></H2>
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<div style="FONT: 10px/14px Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; COLOR: rgb(153,153,153); TEXT-DECORATION: none" class=posted>POSTED: 9:02 pm CDT July 20, 2010</div>
<div style="FONT: 10px/14px Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; COLOR: rgb(153,153,153); TEXT-DECORATION: none" class=updated>UPDATED: 10:55 am CDT July 21, 2010</div>
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<div style="FONT: 15px/20px Georgia, Times, serif" class=StoryBody><B class=Dateline>KANSAS CITY, Mo. --<SPAN class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></B>A couple says ignorance about their blindness resulted in their daughter being taken away by the state.
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Erika Johnson and Blake Sinnett were reunited with their 2-month-old baby, named Mikaela, on Tuesday. Erika Johnson told KMBC's Peggy Breit it started just after Mikaela was born, when Erika was breastfeeding the baby and a nurse became concerned.
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"Well, at first I was pretty shocked," Johnson said. "She said because I said, 'Is she OK?' She said, 'No.' She was beginning to turn blue, but, you know, it's OK, it could happen to anybody."
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Johnson and Sinnett kept tending to their child unaware that someone had called children's services. That night, a social services agent came to see them.
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"Her concern was because we were blind, we weren't going to be able to adequately care for Mikaela," Johnson said.
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The agent first suggested that the couple get 24-7 sighted care to help at home. When they could not make that happen, Mikaela was taken away.
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It was through the Federation of the Blind that Johnson and Sinnett found attorney Amy Coopman.
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"Any parent out there (blind or not), you have a constitutional right to that relationship with your child. That has been violated here. They're not going to get that time back," Coopman said.
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Breit reported that the couple's first battle is over -- the state dropped its petition and brought Mikaela home.
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"Well, I'm very happy and grateful that she is finally back in our care again," Sinnett said.
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The couple said that they want to make sure that no other visually impaired Missourian goes through what they have.
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"The most challenging thing, I think we're going to have to face, is the ignorance of other people -- the assumption that because we are blind or visually impaired that we can't take care of our child," Johnson said.
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Centerpoint Medical Center issued the following statement: "Centerpoint Medical Center is committed to providing the very best patient care for our expectant mothers and newborn babies. While patient privacy laws prevent us from commenting on these specific allegations, the health and safety of all our patients is very important to us."
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<div style="FONT: 15px Georgia, Times, serif" align=right><I>Copyright 2010 by<SPAN class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><A style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,102)" href="mailto:kcnews@kmbc.com">KMBC.com</A>. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</I></div>
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