Source: Battiato family
UPDATE 9/21/2015
From the #ReuniteandFight4Cesar Facebook page today:
Dr. Holick has confirmed Cesar has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and he had the infantile rickets In which caused bone fragility.
As Health Impact News has previously reported,
On June 29, she says she traveled to Boston to meet with world-renowned Dr. Michael Holick, Ph.D. M.D., who counts among his accomplishments pioneering ground-breaking research on vitamin D. After obtaining Cesar and Jessica’s family history and examining Jessica, he reportedly diagnosed her with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome III, which is a hypermobile type of EDS. Because she has the disorder, the likelihood of a similar medical condition in her son is increased.
Earlier in September, a judge approved for Jessica Battiato to take her son Cesar to Dr. Holick for a visit on September 21, where he has now confirmed the diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos.
She is hopeful that this finding will help her get her son back home quickly.
She still has to face a court battle, where CPS may try to discount the testimony of Dr. Holick and other experts. Their case is based on the testimony of child abuse specialist Dr. Kathryn Crowell, who has previously “misrepresented” medical evidence in the past, resulting in an innocent father being sent to prison before he was exonerated by the facts. (See original story here)
By Health Impact News/MedicalKidnap.com Staff
A Pennsylvania mother now reportedly has the backing of a couple of world-renowned medical experts who say that the evidence supports her story that there is a medical reason for her baby boy’s injuries, and that she did not abuse her son. Local media, including FOX 29 in Philadelphia, is now picking up Jessica Battiato’s story, which was first reported by MedicalKidnap.com.
Original story here:
Medical Kidnapping in Pennsylvania: Parents of Baby with Rickets Accused of Abuse
Child abuse specialist Dr. Kathryn Crowell of Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital reported Jessica to child protective services, asserting that baby Cesar’s injuries had to be the result of child abuse. She assured the shocked family that all the tests had been run to rule out any other explanation. Jessica reports that she has learned that simply isn’t true. Her own family history does not appear to have been taken into consideration, either.
Based on the testimony of Dr. Crowell, Cesar was seized and taken into state custody on April 21, 2015. The 6 month old remains in a foster home to this day, with only limited visitation with his parents.
After MedicalKidnap.com reported the Battiatos’ story, Bill Anderson of FOX 29 in Philadelphia met with Jessica for an interview, which aired on Monday, July 6.
Source: FOX 29 Interview
FOX News Coverage of the Battiato Story
FOX Anchor Iain Page opened their news story with this statement:
“A mother takes her young son to be treated for injuries at the hospital and leaves devastated.”
C0-anchor Lucy Noland added:
“The young mom says doctors accused her of abusing her little boy, but she says that is completely wrong.”
Reporter Bill Anderson met with Jessica for the interview, giving the “heartbroken mom” the opportunity to have her side heard publicly.
“When she took him to the hospital for a leg irritation, she told me she was shocked when they accused her of child abuse.”
According to Jessica,
“They told us that he had 18 fractures and 2 they were unsure about. I didn’t understand what was going on and didn’t know what to think.”
Source: FOX 29 Interview
Anderson continues:
“Jessica Battiato maintains she did not abuse her child. … At least one doctor believes her. Dr. David Ayoub, a radiology specialist from Illinois who helps parents that he says are wrongly accused of child abuse, because doctors don’t always know what else to look for. After reviewing Cesar’s records, Dr. Ayoub said, ‘Given the radiological evidence of rickets and subclinical fractures, I believe it is virtually irrefutable that Cesar suffered from skeletal rickets and unrecognized bone fragility and thus received an inappropriate diagnosis of a victim of abuse.'”
Mother Goes to Boston, Diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
Dr. Ayoub apparently isn’t the only expert doctor who believes Jessica. On June 29, she says she traveled to Boston to meet with world-renowned Dr. Michael Holick, Ph.D. M.D., who counts among his accomplishments pioneering ground-breaking research on vitamin D. After obtaining Cesar and Jessica’s family history and examining Jessica, he reportedly diagnosed her with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome III, which is a hypermobile type of EDS. Because she has the disorder, the likelihood of a similar medical condition in her son is increased.
“I’ve always been hypermobile in my knees, but I always thought it was because I was double jointed. What concerned me was the clicking and popping in my son’s body. I realized too I had clicking and popping and always felt older than I am. I’ve always had achy pains in my joints and thought it was an early onset of arthritis. However, when I brought it up to others I was told I was too young to have arthritis. Dr. Ayoub referred me to Dr. Holick because he says sometimes they can correlate [with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome]. Dr. Holick requested blood work and a bone density scan.
“Dr. Holick requested to see my son in Boston. I asked him why the Geneticist at Hershey couldn’t confirm EDS. He basically summed it up as, a lot of doctors make a differential diagnosis and alot of them don’t know much or at all of EDS. I am praying once I receive Dr. Holick’s report, that BCCYS [Berks County Children & Youth Services] will give me permission to take Cesar to see Dr. Holick sometime soon in Boston.
“BCCYS needs to step up and realize after being handed these reports, if it is a medical diagnosis such as EDS and Rickets, they really need to take action. I am doing everything possible to get my son the medical attention he needs. If BCCYS is handed these reports and nothing is done, that’s negligence and they are the real child abusers.”
Dr. Ayoub: Hershey Doctors Missed Early Signs of Rickets
In addition, Dr. Ayoub reportedly reviewed Cesar’s CT scan that was done in February. Cesar had an abnormal hematoma after birth, which concerned his parents. Shortly after, they requested to be sent to a specialist because it “didn’t seem right.” Doctors at Hershey assured the Battiatos that everything was fine at that time, but “Dr. Ayoub states otherwise.” When he studied the CT scan, he found that the infantile rickets was already apparent.
Source: Battiato family
According to Jessica:
“I’m very disappointed that Hershey missed the first sign of rickets in the hematoma that was discovered when he was born. After reviewing my son’s CT of his head, Dr. Ayoub discovered the rickets shows even worse in his skull. This CT was done on Feb. 5 and only a month after my son was born. Hershey was the first to be aware of this. I brought my son to their hospital trusting they would figure out what was wrong, and I was sent home with my son being told, ‘He is fine.'”
Is the Child Abuse Doctor Ignoring Evidence?
Despite the growing body of evidence that there is a true medical explanation for baby Cesar’s condition, Dr. Crowell of Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital allegedly maintains that it has to be child abuse.
However, she has been wrong before. As previously reported, Dr. Crowell’s testimony led to another innocent parent spending more than a year behind bars for abuse that never happened.
In 2009, it was her testimony that sent a young father, Jamel Billups, to jail for 414 days, before a jury found him not guilty. According to a complaint filed in 2011,
“Defendant Kathryn R. Crowell, M.D. … issued a consult report on October 29, 2009, with reckless indifference to the truth, in which she falsely concluded that L.B.’s congenital rickets and childhood venous stroke were caused by abuse. …
“Dr. Crowell holds herself out as an expert in investigating suspected child abuse who can determine whether an injury was caused by abuse. …
“Dr. Crowell acknowledged under oath at Jamel’s criminal trial that she misrepresented medical evidence critical to L.B.’s case when she testified at Jamel’s preliminary hearing.”
How You Can Help
Supporters can follow their story at their Facebook page #ReuniteandFight4Cesar. The next court hearing is scheduled for July 29, 2015, in Berks County, Pennsylvania. Jessica is encouraged by each medical expert who is helping to figure out what is actually going on with her son, and she is hopeful that the court will see the evidence and return her son home to her.
Supporters are asked to contact the governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, and ask that Baby Cesar be returned to his family. He may be reached at 717-787-2500, or contacted here. He is also on Facebook and Twitter.
The Battiatos are represented by Rep. Mark Gillen, who may be reached at (610) 775-5130, contacted here, or reached via Facebook.
Senator Judith Schwank is the senator for the Battiatos’ district. She may be reached at (717) 787-8925, contacted here, or reached via Facebook or Twitter.
Also, please thank Iain Page at Fox 29 for covering this story! His Facebook Page is here (show him some love!)
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