[Nfbc-info] {Disarmed} Kansas City Star article in its entirety

[ckrugman at sbcglobal.net]

There was an extra space mid way through.
Chuck
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Angela Fowler" <fowlers at syix.com>
To: "'NFB of California List'" <nfbc-info at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 6:18 PM
Subject: Re: [Nfbc-info] {Disarmed} Kansas City Star article in its entirety


> Thanks, Chuck. Didn't realized that was a bad link.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbc-info-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbc-info-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
> On
> Behalf Of ckrugman at sbcglobal.net
> Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 3:35 PM
> To: NFBC
> Subject: [Nfbc-info] {Disarmed} Kansas City Star article in its entirety
>
>    As there was an extra space in the link to the article I have posted it
> in its entirety.
> Chuck
> Wednesday, Jul 21, 2010
> Posted on Wed, Jul. 21, 2010
> Infant is returned to blind couple after state places her in protective
> custody By LEE HILL KAVANAUGH The Kansas City Star Erika Johnson will 
> never
> be able to see her baby, Mikaela.
>
> But for 57 days she couldn't keep her newborn close, smell her baby's
> breath, feel her downy hair.
>
> The state took away her 2-day-old infant into protective custody - because
> Johnson and Mikaela's father are both blind.
>
> No allegations of abuse, just a fear that the new parents would be unable 
> to
> care for the child.
>
> On Tuesday, Johnson still couldn't stop crying, although Mikaela was back 
> in
> her arms.
>
> "We never got the chance to be parents," she said. "We had to prove that 
> we
> could."
>
> Tuesday, she and Blake Sinnett knew their baby was finally coming home to
> their Independence apartment, but an adjudication hearing was scheduled 
> for
> the afternoon on whether the state would stay involved in the rearing of 
> the
> baby. Then from a morning phone call to their attorney, they learned that
> the state was dismissing their case.
>
> "Every minute that has passed that this family wasn't together is a 
> tragedy.
> A legal tragedy and a moral one, too," said Amy Coopman, their attorney.
> "How do you get 57 days back?"
>
> Arleasha Mays, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Social 
> Services,
> said privacy laws prohibited her from speaking about specific cases. But 
> she
> added, "The only time we recommend a child be removed is if it's in 
> imminent
> danger."
>
> Johnson said she knew the system eventually would realize its horrible
> mistake, but she often was consumed with sadness. Sinnett tried his best 
> to
> keep Johnson hopeful.
>
> For almost two months she and Sinnett could visit their baby only two or
> three times a week, for just an hour at a time, with a foster parent
> monitoring.
>
> "I'm a forgiving person," Johnson said, but she's resentful that people
> assumed she was incapable.
>
> "Disability does not equal inability," she said.
>
> Representatives of the sightless community agreed that people were
> well-meaning but blinded by ignorance.
>
> Mikaela was born May 21 at Centerpoint Medical Center of Independence. The
> doctors let Sinnett "see" her birth by feeling the crowning of her head.
>
> For Johnson, hearing Mikaela's whimpers was a thrill. The little human
> inside her all these months, the one who hiccupped and burped, who kicked
> and moved, especially at night, was now a real person whom she loved more
> than anything else she'd ever imagined.
>
> In her overnight bag was Mikaela's special homecoming outfit, a green 
> romper
> from Johnson's mother, with matching bottoms and a baby bow.
>
> Questions arose within hours of Mikaela's birth, after Johnson's clumsy
> first attempts at breast-feeding - something many new mothers experience.
>
> A lactation nurse noticed that Mikaela's nostrils were covered by 
> Johnson's
> breast. Johnson felt that something was wrong and switched her baby to her
> other side, but not before Mikaela turned blue.
>
> That's when the concerned nurse wrote on a chart: "The child is without
> proper custody, support or care due to both of parents being blind and 
> they
> do not have specialized training to assist them."
>
> Her words set into motion the state mechanisms intended to protect 
> children
> from physical or sexual abuse, unsanitary conditions, neglect or absence 
> of
> basic needs being met.
>
> Centerpoint said it could not comment because of patient privacy laws, but
> spokeswoman Gene Hallinan said, "We put the welfare of our patients as our
> top priority."
>
> A social worker from the state came by Johnson's hospital room and asked 
> her
> questions: How could she take her baby's temperature? Johnson answered: 
> with
> our talking thermometer. How will you take her to a doctor if she gets 
> sick?
> Johnson's reply: If it were an emergency, they'd call an ambulance. For a
> regular doctor's appointment, they'd call a cab or ride a bus.
>
> But it wasn't enough for the social worker, who told Johnson she would 
> need
> 24-hour care by a sighted person at their apartment.
>
> Johnson said they couldn't afford it, didn't need it.
>
> "I needed help as a new parent, but not as a blind parent," Johnson said.
>
> She recalled the social worker saying: " 'Look, because you guys are 
> blind,
> I don't feel like you can adequately take care of her.' And she left."
>
> The day of Johnson's discharge, another social worker delivered the news 
> to
> the couple that Mikaela was not going home with them. The parents returned
> the next day to visit Mikaela before she left the hospital, but they were
> barred from holding her.
>
> "All we could do was touch her arm or leg," Johnson said.
>
> The couple began making calls. Gary Wunder, president of the National
> Federation of the Blind of Missouri, had trouble believing it at first.
>
> "I needed to verify their whole story," he recalled. "We had to do due
> diligence. . I found the couple to be intelligent and responsible.
>
> "We knew this was an outrage that had taken place."
>
> He notified Kansas City chapter president Shelia Wright, who visited the
> 24-year-olds. Hearing about the empty crib, the baby clothes, Wright
> recalled, "I felt as helpless as I've ever felt in my life.
>
> "I hurt so bad for them. This is unforgivable."
>
> They rallied other associations for the blind nationwide. More than 100
> people at a national convention in Dallas volunteered to travel to Kansas
> City to protest and testify, both as blind parents and as the sighted
> children of blind parents. (Mikaela has normal sight.)
>
> They also hired Coopman, who watched the young couple with their baby girl
> on Tuesday.
>
> "I'm sorry," she said, wiping tears. "But this should not have happened."
>
> Johnson kept a journal that Coopman is keeping closed for now. She 
> indicates
> that legal action will be taken.
>
> "Whether a couple is visually impaired or deaf or in a wheelchair, the 
> state
> should not keep them from their children," she said.
>
> Now breast-feeding is a lost option. And the beautiful newborn clothes
> hanging in the closet went unworn, because their baby was growing bigger 
> in
> the arms of someone else.
>
> The couple said they had tried to prove themselves to the sighted 
> community
> since their early years. Sinnett rode his bicycle on the street with the
> help of a safety gadget. Johnson graduated from high school with honors. 
> But
> all the challenges they've endured over the years shrink compared to the
> responsibility of caring for 10 pounds of squirming baby girl.
>
> Johnson cuddled Mikaela. Gave her a bottle. Patted her back until she
> burped. Mikaela gave a tiny smile.
>
> In their 24 years, the couple said, they've both endured prejudice from
> others. They don't want any other blind parent to suffer the same obstacle
> they did.
>
> Fifty-seven days are too precious to lose.
>
> The Star's Laura Bauer contributed to this report. To reach Lee Hill
> Kavanaugh, call               816-234-4420         816-234-4420 or send
> e-mail to lkavanaugh at kcstar.com.
> C 2010 Kansas City Star and wire service sources. All Rights
> Reserved.http://www.kansascity.com/2010/07/20/2097290/infant-is-returned-to-
> blind-couple.html
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