These parents went 'to hell and back' when their baby was wrongly removed from their care.
A three-month-old baby girl was removed from her family in England after hospital staff believed physical violence was the cause of her bruises. Baby Effie was brought to Stoke Mandeville Hospital seventeen times by her parents as they knew something was wrong when the bruising continued to occur.
Although it wasn’t the first time this was brought to the attention of medics, authorities took Effie into emergency foster care for 9 whole months where both parents could visit only under supervision. Effie’s father was also arrested in relation to his daughters 'injuries' which authorities believed he may have been responsible for.
Thankfully, Effie’s quick thinking mum and dad, both aged 23, sought help from medical experts and found their little girl has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) which affects the body’s connective tissue. The bruising seen on baby Effie is typical of the condition. Symptoms to look out for include joints that dislocate easily and weak or stretchy skin. If severe enough the hereditary condition can even cause the inside of the aorta to tear.
Effie’s father, Craig Stillwell, told the
Mirror,
"We have been to hell and back fighting to get our daughter back, it has been every parent’s nightmare.
We were made to feel like criminals and missed out on months of our daughter’s life, we’re just so relieved to be able to clear our names and be a family again."
Mum, Carla Andrews, commented,
"The whole house felt empty. It was horrible waking up and not being able to feed her, seeing all her toys and not having her with us."
Thankfully, the nightmare of not being with their baby girl is now over for these parents while they take all the measures possible to manage her condition and make up for lost time when they couldn’t be with their daughter.
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