Corinth woman awaits judge's decision after her son was taken by CPS
CORINTH, Texas - A Denton County judge is set to decide on Wednesday if a mother should regain custody of her 2-year-old son after Child Protective Services removed him while she sought to get a doctor's second opinion.
It's a story FOX 4 first brought you last week. Now, a state representative says his office will not stop until the mother is reunited with her child.
Before CPS took her son, Josiah, on Dec. 21, Joslyn Sanders had never been away from him for more than a few hours.
"It has been 65 days I've been without my son," she said.
Paralyzed from the waist down in high school, Sanders has connected with hundreds of thousands of people through her emotional posts with her son on Instagram.
"I'm his mother," she said. "I believe I have the best interest for my son."
But according to a court affidavit filed by CPS, a caseworker disagreed.
Part of her statement describes a significant burn or rash on Josiah's body, swelling and what she observed to be severe malnutrition.
Sanders says she took Josiah to Children's Medical Center Dallas at the recommendation of her pediatrician to make sure the rash was not becoming dangerously infected.
Medical records provided by the family showed that Josiah did not have sepsis.
But Sanders was not comfortable with the medication recommended by the doctor, so she left with her son "against medical advice." That triggered the report to CPS.
As for the malnutrition, Sanders provided records that showed she already had a treatment plan in place for feeding difficulties through Josiah's nutrition therapist, and she told the caseworker she would take Josiah to Children's Health Plano.
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But despite that, the caseworker wrote, "Ms. Sanders was uncooperative with medical professionals, opting to leave the hospital with Josiah Sanders despite being told that Josiah needed to be admitted into the hospital for ongoing care. All reasonable efforts… have been made… to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of this child."
"She disregarded the fact we saw his primary care provider," Sanders said.
In an affidavit filed on Monday,
Sanders’ doctor, a board-certified pediatrician with Shine Pediatrics, filed an affidavit on Monday saying,
"The events… are really beyond my comprehension. If there was an immediate concern for the safety of the child, Children’s should clearly see that the child’s low (nutrient levels) is due to a medical condition and not neglectful or harmful parenting or grandparenting. The reason I say clearly is because this child is still having problems gaining weight and eating two months after admission."
Tuesday, Texas Rep. Carl Sherman (D-DeSoto) weighed in.
"On behalf of the state of Texas, I apologize," he said. "No parent should have to go through what you and your father have experienced. This is America."
Sherman said parents should have a right to a second opinion without losing their parental rights, and he wants to pursue legislation supporting that.
"Families like this are model families. You've got a top 10% graduate of UNT. You've got a father engaged with their grandson. That is what we want," he said.
Sanders says she has only been allowed weekly visits with her son, and he cries when she has to leave.
"I want to tell him mommy is doing everything she can to bring him home to me," she said.
The court hearing is set for 9 a.m. Wednesday in Denton.