Reprinted with permission by The Common Sense Show
Justina Pelletier recently returned home and custody has been returned to her parents. Justina’s return to her family was truly a godsend, following a long and arduous battle for her family. While Justina’s story had a happy ending, there are many other parents still struggling to regain custody of their children from a child protective agency.
There are plenty of cases these days, in which a parent asks for a second medical opinion, only to have their child later removed from their custody by the state. Justina’s case was one such example and her parents were subsequently accused of medical abuse when they dared to question the authority of a prominent hospital. Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there.
Allow me to introduce you to Isaiah Rider and his mother, Michelle. If you are at all familiar with the details of what Justina had to endure for 16 months, then this case will sound all too familiar to you. The biggest difference is that so far, Isaiah’s case does not have a happy ending.
Isaiah is a 16 year old boy from Kansas City, Mo. who is currently a ward of the state of Illinois. I interviewed his mother, Michelle Rider, today and want to tell his story. I will let you decide who should have custody of Isaiah.
Isaiah’s story really began when he was just 6 years old. While at an after-school program, Michelle said, “Isaiah fell and fractured his leg.” He subsequently underwent a number of surgeries, in an attempt to heal his injury and to ensure that he did not lose his leg, according to Michelle.
Michelle said that, unfortunately in Isaiah’s case, “The surgeries caused the length of Isaiah’s injured leg to be different in length than his other leg and his foot stopped growing.” Michelle also indicated that, “Osteoporosis set in, his foot became deformed, and Isaiah continued to experience pain.”
Isaiah, according to Michelle, has a genetic disorder called neurofibromatosis. Neurofibromatosis is a genetic disorder that disturbs cell growth in the nervous system, causing tumors to form on nerve tissue. The tumors can develop anywhere in the body, including the spinal cord. When tumors press on a nerve, surgery may help to ease the symptoms. Isaiah’s father also reportedly suffers from the same disorder.
At age 15, Michelle said, “Isaiah asked the doctors at Children’s Mercy Hospital (CM) in Kansas City, Mo. how he could have a ‘normal’ life.” Michelle said Isaiah became excited, “When the doctors told him that he could have a normal life if he had surgery to amputate his leg.”
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