It was a sequence of events that could happen to any new mother, but Brenda Maney of Richmond, Kentucky, could never have anticipated that it would result in her losing her children, perhaps forever. But that is what is happening. In less than a month, on May 7, Brenda faces a hearing to permanently terminate her parental rights.
Brenda's baby girl was born two weeks early via c-section. She went to the NICU and was in a coma for eight days. She was diagnosed with sleep apnea and severe GERD, and required an apnea monitor when she was finally released to go home. Between an infection in her surgical scar, and a monitor that sometimes went off every half hour or hour, Brenda wasn't getting much sleep. She was also caring for her 11 year old special needs son.
She didn't have much help either, because her mother had passed away not long before the birth, and she was a single mom. When her baby was 6 weeks old, she learned that she was going to have to move soon because the building she lived in was being sold. By this point, she was still under doctors orders not to lift anything over 10 lbs.
Then the transmission on her car went out.
It was a bit overwhelming, and Brenda called a friend, crying about the series of unfortunate events. Her friend offered to try to help her. Her friend was a bit naive, and called CPS to help the new mama, believing that their role was to help parents in time of need. That is when the problems really started. Although local police objected, CPS took away her children. Even after doctors cleared Brenda of any psychological or medical problems, CPS refused to give her children back.