B.C. couple fights to get kids back
MINISTRY ACTION: Children put in foster care because of son’s unexplained broken bones
Every time she says goodbye to her five-year-old son, his mother struggles to explain why.
“I just say, ‘The ministry is not allowing me to stay with you, honey. They’re afraid. Your legs keep breaking,’ ” she recalls through tears.
The B.C. Ministry of Children and Family Development seized the woman’s two kids last month, for the second time, because of unexplained breaks in her son’s legs. Since he was a baby, he has suffered at least a dozen broken bones.
The mother and father can’t legally be named because their children are in foster care.
The soft-spoken aboriginal couple from northern B.C. say they love their children and would never abuse them. Community members say they are excellent parents and their eight-year-old daughter has never had unexplained injuries.
The ministry says it can’t discuss the case due to privacy legislation, but it investigates reports from the public, including doctors, about possible abuse and determines whether kids must be placed in care for their safety.
The parents say they’ve spent years trying to figure out why their son has repeatedly broken bones. Brittle bone disease has been ruled out, though he could have a rare form, but they suspect he has autism and possibly a condition that limits his sensitivity to pain.
His first break was found at 11 months old, when the couple noticed a bump on his arm and brought him to hospital. The doctor wrote that she would need to report it to the ministry, but she didn’t feel there was any indication of abuse as the boy was well-dressed, clean and “obviously happy.”
A different doctor wrote in 2014 that the injuries weren’t typical of toddlers and suggested investigation regarding possible unwitnessed abuse.
A recent psychologist’s report found the little boy has a very high pain threshold, isn’t cautious around hot and sharp objects and is a risk-taker, including jumping from high places.
“Because he does not feel pain the way other children do, he could be seriously injured and not realize it,” the psychologist wrote.
The couple is furious the ministry removed their kids twice — seizing them in July and returning them in September, before taking them again a month later.
A social worker said in court documents in September she had spoken at length with community members and professionals involved with the family and all described “loving, caring, involved parents who were dedicated to their children.”