Posted on 04/12/2007 5:10:34 PM PDT by Tinman
Little Katie Hubanks came into the world on March 22, 2006, much to the joy of her Mom and Dad, siblings, grandparents, and other family members. Just over a month later that joy was replaced by anger, fear, disbelief, and any other negative emotion you can name.
I'll allow Katie's "Nana"'s words to express what an entire family has been dealing with for nearly a year:
Kathryn was born in Claremore, OK. on March 22, 2006. She was born 5 week early. Needless to say she was small and came with the risks of certain medical conditions that could develope such as, hypoglycemia, respiratory distress, jaundice and difficulty in maintaining normal body tempurature. Preemies can also have difficulty in feeding because they don't have the reflexes to properly suck.
On April 23, 2006, Katie was taken to the ER in Sapulpa because she was having trouble breathing. Dr. Black, who was on duty, told her mother that the only thing that was going on with Katie was that she had a sinus infection, and that her mother was over reacting. He made this diagnosis without the benefit of any lab tests, x-rays, or any other diagnostic tool. He sent the baby home with saline drops and told her mother to use a cool mist vaporizer. Her mother was told that the baby would sleep more and eat less for the next couple of days.
On April 24, 2006, approximately 24 hours after seeing Dr. Black, Katie was rushed to St. Francis in Tulsa after the ambulance arrived at her parent's home because her parents called them as the baby was having trouble breathing and was turning blue. When the EMTs got there they started to work on her, her breathing was shallow and she was cyanotic. When they took her vitals at 18:33 hrs they were as follows, Pulse 166, normal, Res. 30+normal, left lung normal and clear, right lung normal and clear, temp. 92, skin color=pink skin moisture=normal, pupils=equal and reative. Her blood sugar was 50 Normal is 85-110. At 18:35 hrs. the cardiac monitor indicated sinus tach (fast heartbeat). At 18:50 hrs. they started an IV with saline solution and put her on oxygen. At 18:50 by order of the doctor in the ER EMT administered a 12.5 gm of dextrose by IV push. She got about 1ml of it before the line blew.
Then she was transported from Sapulsa to ST. Francis in Tulsa within 16 minutes, the entire time Katie's blood sugar is dropping.
On April 26, 2006 the Oklahoma Dept. of Human Services took custody of Katie based on the report from St. Francis. Either the Attending doctor in the ER or Dr. Barton called them and said that the parents had failed to provide adequate nutrition. Keeping in mind that Dr. Black said the baby would eat less and that when the EMTs showed up, along with the Sheriff's Dept. only the father was asked when the last time he fed the baby. When he said approximately 8am, all questions stopped. Nothing to the mother, or anyone else about the baby being fed. The fact is, that the baby was fed every 2-3 hrs, but was not taking a full feeding. It sounds like Dr. Black at least got that part correct.
Meanwhile back to St. Francis. Some doctor, we are not sure who, announced to the DHS worker that they found a "bar" of Xanax in the baby's throat. Interesting, since no such medication was anywhere near the baby. And if it was there, why didn't the EMTs find it? If it was there, where is it? If it was there, why wasn't anyone questioned about it or arrested for it? Katie was in the care of the EMTs from 18:33 hrs without her parents having any access to her, so here's the question again, where was the Xanax? The only place it shows up is in the first report from the DHS caseworker in Sapulpa. In the same report from Jennifer Jones, she stated that neither of the parents are ever at St. Francis. Wrong again. The mother and her friend followed the ambulance(father stayed home with the other children) to St. Francis and waited for 11 hrs before being allowed 10 minutes with Katie. I know they were there because I got the collect call from Katie's mom at the hospital. Katie's mom is my daughter,. She called me on a constant basis to keep me informed about Katie. I have the phone records to prove it. When Katie was finally reunited with ther family in July, 2006, it was a happy day. After jumping through all the hoops that DHS put up, Katie came home. At the end of July, Lisa, Katie's mom, asked permission to come to Texas so I could see Katie and the rest of my grandchildren. When she asked, her case worker, Lea Glenn-Borts, said to let her know exactly where she was going to be. On Monday August 6, 2006 Lisa called DHS and let her (Lea) know where she was. At approximately 3:30pm Amanda from Sapulpa DHS called my cell phone and asked if I had been in contact with Lisa. I told her yes as we had just left the local Wal-Mart. She asked to speak to her but I told her we were in separate cars and Lisa would call DHS when we got home. At 4pm Lisa called Lea. Lea informed Lisa that the parents had until that Friday to get the baby back to Oklahoma. At 11:15pm a police officer and a CPS worker from Texas showed up at my door to remove Katie. We saw Katie the next day for 1 hr. before Lea had her on a plane to Sapulpa. The CPS worker here in Texas was great. She conducted studies on my home, ordered hair folicle and urine tests on everyone, and found no neglect on anyone's part.
The pick-up order was received at 4:15pm Lea never had any intention of allowing the parents time to comply with her instructions to have the baby back in Oklahoma by that Friday.
Since then it has been nightmare after nightmare. We call to see what we need to do next, calls don't get returned. We called supervisors, no good. Contacted the Dept. of Human Services in Oklahoma City and asked for Motion to Expedite and Motion for Kinship Placement, Lea will not take them to the judge. It took us 6 weeks to get Lea to fila for ICPC, which transfers everything to Texas. She order a Drug Assessment Test and it took her 6 weeks to get the paperwork to the person who did that. Once that test was done she had the results in 72 hrs. She ordered 2 more urine tests with the results to be to her in 4 days. We made that deadline thanks to the CPS worker here in Texas.
We are all firmly convinced that because of where the parents were living, not making lots of money, and maybe afraid to fight the system, that DHS had a healthy baby available. They never even took notice of my older grandchildren. Why? They have put this family through hell and we still don't have our Katie. We have a lawyer who is working on this and she is very good. It should have never come to this. When Katie got sick, all she needed was the right kind of a doctor, a neonatalogist.
The parents were ordered back to court in Jan. 2007 and in Feb. 2007, when DHS was granted 60 days because, according the DHS and the CASA worker, the baby was "terrorized" by her parents. It probably didn't help that on each and every visit the baby was sick, she was in a strange place being stared at like a zoo exhibit. I would be upset too. Now the parents are going through the "bonding process" and to complete the reunification process.
All we have asked for was to have Katie home. All of DHS and the Courts hoops have ben jumped through. What is the problem?
My FRiends, I am Katie's "Papa". I am currently working in Iraq, in direct support of our military. I got word of Katie's birth by phone. Unfortunately, a month later my daughter had to inform me that Katie had been taken into state custody. Why?! Her parents did nothing wrong, unless living in a trailer park and trying to make a living has become a crime. Katie's parents were accused of "nutritional and medical 'neglect'". How is that possible when they took her to the doctor 24 hours before she had to be rushed to the hospital?!
We have so many unanswered questions. These are questions we have been asking for nearly a year:
If there was even a suspicion of "neglect", why did they only take the infant? Shouldn't they have removed her siblings, also? They didn't. Why not?
When repeated drug screens came back negative, shouldn't that have eliminated the "concern" that there may have been drug use in the home?
How can the State tell people that as a condition of returning a child, the parents would not be "allowed" to live in a multi-generational home, with the grandmother? Regardless of the fact of it being the best situation for the family to support one another, in every way.
Why, as each "condition" was successfully met, another was put in place?
Why was this child removed in the first place? Because she was sick? Well, she's been in and out of the hospital repeatedly, while in government care, are they guilty of neglect? Why not?!
This child is placed in "day care" on a regular basis, by her "foster mother". If she was with her family, she wouldn't have spent a single day in "day care". What's better for the child?
There is much more that can be told. My wife, Katie's Nana, (screen-name:Glinda) will be monitoring this thread, as will I. We'll be happy to answer any questions you might have regarding this situation.
How can you help? If you would, help us get the answer to one simple question:
"Why is Katie being kept in state custody?"
There is not, nor as there ever been, any evidence whatsoever, of any neglect or abuse. The abuse has been on the part of the State and it's taken its toll on an entire family, in every way imaginable.
Please call or e-mail the people who refuse to reunite Katie with her family. Simply ask "Why?"
I realize that this may clog their mailboxes and voicemails and that that may be a terrible inconvenience for them but ...oh,well.
If some "friends of the family" or "concerned citizens" help us get what we want, then I guess there wouldn't be further need for any more phone calls or e-mails.
Thank You.
Katie's "Papa"
( below is the contact info for those who can change this immediately)
Lea, Lea.Glenn-Borts@okdhs.org (918) 746-3309, cell 720-4287
Bill Day (supervisor) Bill.Day@okdhs.org (918) 746-3300
Dean Wise (918) 720-1988 (CASA worker)
The child in question is Kathryn Hubanks
My wife and I will continue to help Lisa bring her baby home. We have all missed many "firsts" in Katie's life (Christmas and her birthday hurt the most). I have never held her or even seen her. I only have a half dozen pictures. BTW, Lisa is actually my step-daughter but we don't do "steps" in my family.
Regards to all
Love
Me
You and yours are in my family’s prayers
This is an awful story, but unfortunately, one of many instances of child services taking advantage of the poor, exactly for the reasons you stated, because they think they can’t fight back.. this family will be in my prayers.
Thank you
WOW....prayers for you and your family.....and your attorney.....sounds like you’re fighting BIG BROTHER - and they seem to be able to create nightmares. If what you say is true, it seems someone is on a power trip, and now they are attempting to cover it up. There must be a local non-profit who might be able to help deal with the nastiness and what looks like downright despicable behaviour of the gov’t employees.....have you contacted your State and Federal senator’s and rep’s?
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Too bad for them that they didn't know about me. They picked on the wrong family this time.
Regards
Bttt
BTTT
Their case has been nothing but allegation and innuendo from the start.
Regards
if someone like,say a teacher, reported anything even remotely bordering on suspicious concerning a young boy or girl,
Tehy'll swoop in like hawks, snatch-grab, and throw up all manner of legal brickwalls to filibuster and try to dissuade the parents seeking custody again.
Regards to all
after you get the baby back home, i wonder if the state would have to pay anything for the pain and suffering?
Prayers followed by more prayers....
Our biggest concern is when they started using terms like "adoption" and "severing parental rights". That was only a few months in. Since then, they have tried every bullying tactic , threat, and manipulation of the facts that you can imagine.
Regards
We need to get Katie home first and we need help.
Regards
Freepmail wagglebee or little jeremiah to subscribe or unsubscribe from the moral absolutes ping list.
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If you have a different POV, please contact me privately.
Regards
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