Hannah and Kayla Diegel. Source: Diegel family.
UPDATE July 7, 2015
From the “A Miracle For Two Sisters’s” Facebook Page:
Melissa Diegel’s trial resumes TODAY and is scheduled from Tuesday through Friday on July 7,8,9 & 10th at 1:30 – 5:00 each day. These dates along with the opening day of trial should complete 1/2 of the trial with even more dates scheduled in the future. Brenda Bursch the Munchausen’s “expert” is expected to be called to finish being cross examined.
If you live in AZ we are hopeful that you will attend as a court watcher to support Melissa’s constitutional rights, parental rights, civil rights and most importantly support her for the daughters she has valiantly fought for.
Also from the “A Miracle For Two Sisters’s” Facebook Page:
BREAKING!!!!! NEW FACTS RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC
Read about the molestation allegations*, the swat team that stormed Melissa’s home during the middle of the night *, intimidation by the state to the CASA *, the pre-determined ruling in the contempt hearing and how Phoenix Children’s Hospital started to bill the insurance company for a condition months before the girls were taken for a condition K clearly does not have* along with much more.
* #31 molestation allegations
*#32 swat team
*#36 PCH bills for a medical condition that doesn’t exist
*#47 & #48 Casa’s intimidation
By Guest Writer Melissa Diegel
Health Impact News
Time keeps moving forward for most families across the United States. For my family, it has been 14 months since both my daughters Kayla and Hannah Diegel were taken. But I remember when I followed the Justina Pelletier story. I actually was Pro-Family back then. I was already involved in a legal battle with the school. They were violating both of my daughters’ disability rights, so I contacted a pro bono lawyer from the disability law center. We were literally in the middle of fighting the school when CPS took my daughters away from me.
Although I had never home-schooled them, I had applied for homeschooling scholarships because I was tired of battling the school system. I knew I was capable of homeschooling, because I operated my own preschool for 5 years, and was educated in both business and early childhood. I received the letter that both my daughters were approved for their homeschooling scholarships for the following year, right after they were taken. Hannah was approved for a $22,000 scholarship through the state. Instead, the Phoenix Children’s Hospital and the state medically kidnapped them and made both of them unnecessarily repeat a grade.
I can see daily that time keeps moving forward, but things are clearer now, yet more hazy. They are clearer now because right from wrong has never been so obvious. But the haziness comes from me questioning humanity, and why CPS workers across our country might be taking children unnecessarily for monetary gain.
You know that “deer in the headlights” look? That jaw-dropping, “oh my gosh this can’t be happening to me” scenario? Well, it is happening to 450,000+ children a year, and nearly 700,000 parents a year. The statement, “We are here to take your kids,” isn’t a line from a movie. It is reality for many. Oftentimes this is done without a warrant in violation of due process of law.
I Live Your Pain Daily
My family’s case isn’t tiny; nobody’s is when it involves children’s lives. I have seen the most horrifying images. They are etched into my brain as if a hot iron has seared it there. I not only had my children taken, but now I have become an outspoken advocate, a writer, an activist, a fighting mother that was falsely accused.
Suddenly, I have found myself amongst thousands of families who are now intertwined with mine, and I can feel their pain because I know their pain…… because I LIVE THEIR PAIN. I too know what it is like to have a child ripped from my arms and taken from my home. Time keeps moving, but it’s like my heart has stopped.
The Diegels, before CPS. Source: Diegel family.
Diegel Trial Has Finally Begun
My trial has finally started in Arizona. The law here clearly states a parent is supposed to have an adjudication hearing (trial Statute 8-842) within 90 days, (120 at the latest.) But despite the fact that I filed several motions regarding this issue, it didn’t seem to matter to the courts.
Out of the hundreds of families I have talked to in Arizona, not one has had their trial within the proper 90 days. That in itself is grounds for an appeal and a class action lawsuit on behalf of all the families, since they all qualify, as the most basic and fundamental statute is not being followed. I am not a lawyer, but I have been studying the law, and this is what I have found: in Strunk v. United States 412 U.S. 434 1973, the Supreme Court ruled that if the defendant’s right to a speedy trial was violated, then it must be dismissed.
I filed a Writ of Habeas Corpus over 90 days ago. It was completely ignored by the courts. The judge never even bothered to answer back.
The judicial system has run amuck and our country is in crisis.
I am not a crazed mom. My psych exam was normal. Hannah, my youngest daughter, was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy in 2013 and treated for mitochondrial disease by Phoenix Children’s Hospital, which falls under the M.D. umbrella.
It wasn’t until I received the billing records that I could prove to everyone what the doctors had verbally said. The state had been withholding the medical records for over a year despite a judge’s order to release them. I fought for one year to get the billing records through back channels of writing my primary insurance company. But I have them now. It proves it all, every diagnosis: from the paralyzed stomachs to the brain surgery to acid reflux. And guess what, the insurance company never bills for – “it is all in mom’s head.”
Phoenix Children’s Hospital billed their millions off of my children and then accused me, the mom, of Munchausen by Proxy, or as it is known now in the DSM-V, “Factitious Disorder.”
Brain Surgeon Orders Brain Surgery
There were real diagnostic tests that matched the symptoms that backed up what was happening with both Kayla and Hannah Diegel, now age 11 and 13. One such example would be the MRI that showed a large arachnoid brain cyst pushing on Hannah’s brain stem.
Hannah’s brain MRI. Source: Diegel family
This affected Hannah’s ability to walk (gait and balance), which caused numbness and tingling, vision problems, etc. Dr. Spetzler, the brain surgeon at St. Joseph’s Hospital, decided to do brain surgery to relieve the pressure. He did an excellent job. Hannah regained 100% of her balance, her vision improved enough where she didn’t even have to wear glasses anymore, and the numbness and tingling disappeared completely! It was miraculous! (She did, however, continue to have headaches.)
Hannah after brain surgery. Source: Diegel family.
Another such example would be that both my children had gastric scans that showed their stomachs had delayed gastric emptying/gastroparesis. This is the crux of my case and many others across the nation.
So many children are being taken away for “Failure to Thrive” if they are “Disabled,” have “Genetic Issues,” “ADHD,” “Autism,” or “Are Feeding Tube Dependent.” And, unfortunately, under the code of federal regulation 46.116, some of them will be entered into drug trials, because the state has the authority to to make those decisions while the children are under the guise of the state.
Some children were taken because they were abused. There are pockets of CPS agencies across the United States that I have heard work correctly. However, many children were taken for the wrong reasons. Some were the results of vindictive calls turned in. But the children are now worth federal funding. If the judicial system worked correctly and due process rights were not being violated, parents might stand a chance.
Brenda Bursch, PHD – “Professional Testifier”
So how are the courts successfully keeping these children?
In some cases, they hire professional testifiers like Brenda Bursch, who gets paid $200 an hour to testify on the stand. She is contracted by different states, (in her case 5 different states.) She has been practicing for over 20 years, and has been working with CPS since the early 1990s. She now gets paid to professionally and falsely testify against the parents.
Brenda Burch has a PHD in psychology. She testifies against the medical records she has reviewed, but she is NOT a licensed medical doctor. Also, in most cases, she has NEVER MET the children or the accused parent IN PERSON until the day of the trial, yet testifies as to their supposed diagnosis on the stand.
Her specialty is MBP. She boldly claims that a parent should never be able see their child again because the parent has made the child ill. In seemingly all her cases, she claims the parents suffer from “Munchhausen by Proxy/ Factitious Disorder,” yet she has never spoken to the parent or child in almost all her cases.
It is the most unprofessional thing I have ever seen. Brenda Bursch has been involved in at least 9 MBP Arizona cases and was brought up on charges of practicing medicine in Arizona without a license. She has also been involved in multiple clinical research trials.
Where Our Country Went Wrong
The Adoption and Safe Families Act that Clinton Signed in 1997 gave financial incentive to states to adopt out children. This created a reward system to take more children and adopt them out. The numbers across the United States soared, and suddenly the children were not being returned home. More kids than ever were being taken and families were being shattered.
Source: Melissa Diegel
Arizona is a prime example of this. They take more children than any other state. 17,600+ are now in care. Over 35 children a day are being taken. Over 83% percent of the parents are being accused of NEGLECT, not abuse. Neglect can be something as simple as dirty dishes, the loss of a job, the house being too messy, a missed doctors appointment, and so on.
What Can YOU Do About It?
There is power in numbers. Educate yourself and join the rallies. Stop being silent. Become a court watcher… and pray if you are a believer. Never Give Up. Never Stop Caring.
www.amiraclefortwosisters.org #Miracle42S #TheArizonaTeam #MelissaDiegel
Editor’s Note: Supporters of the Diegel family have a Facebook Page set up for their cause:
Previous stories on the Diegel Family in Arizona:
Melissa, My experience with the courts has been similar to yours. They do not abide by the law! Their power-range is stunning. Thanks for speaking out! For every good parent who speaks, there are a thousand who suffer silently. Exposure is the antidote to these overwhelming emotions that come with betrayal and injustice. This Site is therapeutic for the trauma of daylight kidnapping.