Posted on 11/01/2015 6:54:40 AM PST by UMCRevMom@aol.com
Tiffany Cherry only wanted the best possible care for sick baby. And despite the fact that her concern triggered an Amber Alert and sent her to prison, she has no regrets. After all, he’s getting better.
As WBZ News reports, Cherry had taken her two-month-old son Qavai to an emergency clinic in Pennsylvania, where a nurse told her that Qavai was dehydrated and told Cherry to take her son to an emergency room.
But as far as Cherry was concerned, there was only hospital she trusted to take care of her baby.
“I brought him to Boston because Boston Children’s is where he needed to be,†she told WBZ. “Everything in me told me ‘Tiffany, go get your baby to Boston Children’s Hospital.'â€
Dissatisfied with the care available in Pennsylvania, Cherry got in a car and drove four-and-a-half hours to Boston Children’s Hospital, widely regarded as one of the best in the country.
“I was not comfortable with the level of care my child was receiving. I would do anything for my children,†said Cherry.
At Boston Children’s, doctor’s diagnosed Qavai as having issues with his esophagus and white blood count. The dehydration issue cited by the nurse in Pennsylvania was a misdiagnosis from a nurse who, “looked at my son for ten seconds and didn’t know what she was looking at,†said Cherry.
Unfortunately, when Cherry left Pennsylvania without taking her son to the hospital mentioned by that nurse, she triggered an Amber Alert. According to the Boston Globe, Pennsylvania allows an Amber Alert (usually used in cases of child abduction) to be issued in situations where a child’s health or life is endangered. Though Cherry drove her baby to the ER—as instructed by a nurse—her decision to pick a different hospital led to her arrest in Boston. Cherry is currently in custody, fighting to get her children back.
“They are my life. I deserve them back and they deserve their mommy,†she told WBZ.
Cherry says that she’s especially protective of her children after the devastating loss of her first child, who was stillborn in 2009. Having them taken away from her now has been very difficult.
“It hurts. It hurts. It hurts,†she sobbed.
However, the news that Qavai is getting better made it all worth it. While Cherry says that she thinks Pennsylvania authorities “jumped the gun†on the Amber Alert, she would do it all again for her little boy. And she’s more certain than ever that she did the right thing.
“I’m so thankful to Boston Children’s Hospital may have saved my sons life,†said Cherry.
Cherry is now facing a number of legal problems as the result of her trip to Boston, but her first priority is getting custody of her children again. Her lawyer has argued that this was not a proper use of an Amber Alert, while others are hoping that the courts will see fit to reunite the devoted mother with her family.
“She is a great mother,†her niece, Tarshi Cherry, told the Boston Globe. “It’s her whole life.â€
She was give a diagnosis of dehydration, she believed it incorrect and took him to the best option she could think of. The fact she has been arrested for this and had her children taken away is nanny state at its worst. I cannot believe of all places here at FR folks are defending that state and blaming the mother. Insane.
And someone here called me a “moron” because I was suspicious from the outset. There is ALWAYS more than one side to the story and what was posted was HER side.
That’s why you haven’t seen the person that called me a moron come back and refute.
All children belong to The State, Citizen. You should know that with every fiber of your being. Report immediately to re-education.
Well said.
It’s not the government’s job to decide what’s best for ones family, period. The government has narrowly defined powers, and this is all so far outside them it’s sick.
I am very familiar with my local hospitals and have dealt with there incompetence. You better believe if you diagnose my kid with dehydration and I know it’s not right and tell me to go to certain hospitals it will be a cold day in hell before I go to certain ones.
The system eff’d up.
Who claims she was a saint?
What a mess. It appears that if you don’t interact with any institutions of a governmental or medical nature, you might lead a happy life. Otherwise, all bets are off.
Only saints love their children? There are so many stories and illustrations of the renewing power that self sacrificial love can do for a person.
And in her mind will always be the knowledge that she pushed the limits to save her son and succeeded.
You can’t buy that in a bottle or using WIC.
Family, friends, lawyers - author of the article implies it, IMO. This particular story in the OP smells. Somebody tells you your daughter needs to go to the emergency room and you decide to go out of state 3-4 hours away? Not hardly.
Look at the link I provided earlier.
And yet you totally discount the nearest emergency room in Pennsylvania from being able to do the same thing? It had to be a completely different state 3-4 hours away? Give me a break.
Go call somebody else a moron.
For hours is nothing...would sit in local er room waiting for conditions to worsen before guessing next step in that time.
Thank goodness for government and powerhungry inept nurses
Oh please!
According to our local (Boston) news, she lived in Boston before Philly.
Bostons Childrens,a very good hospital.
I guess that mom Cherry, never heard the story of that 16yr old that was in BCH for a whole year ,against the family’s will.
Mom could have taken the baby to Philadelphia’s Childrens Hosp.
AGREED! Ridiculous comments.
Children’s has a bad habit of doing that. See Justina Pelletier
The discussion is starting from the premise that the original diagnosis of dehydration was incorrect, but I’m not seeing that backed up by anything other than the mother’s statement. An infant with an incorrectly-functioning esophagus and an infection (elevated white blood count) is extremely likely to be dehydrated.
She believed that the emergency rooms in her area were not capable of handling the emergency. Whether or not she was right is not the question (Although that part of Philadelphia probably does not have good emergency rooms.)
She did what she thought was best. Whether you or I agree, she was doing the best she could with the information we had. She created a plan in her mind to get better care for the child, and acted on that plan.
That seems to be a good survival technique. How many people have we heard about here on FreeRepublic news stories who don’t have a plan and don’t care and just expect the government to come riding in when their butt is in a sling?
We’re from the government and we are here to help.
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