Fighting for Justice: A Grandmother's Plea

My grandson was placed on a feeding tube at the age of 4 months. After having the tube for a short amount of time, my daughter, being attentive to her kids, noticed his breathing was different. She took him to the ER; he was given an X-ray and released. The tube was found to be misplaced during the X-ray, but the doctors never informed my daughter. Two days later, he coded for over 20 minutes. He suffered severe brain damage during that time, causing delays in daily life activities.

After numerous hospital stays and doctor visits, he was approved to go to Vanderbilt, where the doctors allowed him to be orally fed. Once he began to oral feed, his speech progressed, his weight increased, and his limbs started moving freely. Before, he was stuck at a constant weight with no growth and no speech. Now he’s adapting and interacting; his emotional state is healthy.

He was taken into the ER with concerns that the area of the tube was abnormally redder than usual, and since he’s not using the tube because he’s orally eating only, they immediately alerted CPS with allegations of medical neglect without investigating. CPS stepped in and temporarily removed custody from my daughter. I, the grandmother, was given temporary custody. My grandson was kept in the hospital for 2 weeks. CPS, along with the ER doctors, placed him back on the tube that initially caused the problem to begin with for 2 1/2 days. On the 3rd day, I explained to the doctors that he normally eats by mouth; he was then given puréed food. The caseworker set up a meeting with the team of doctors handling my grandson's admission. During the meeting, the doctors decided he should continue oral feeds and, while in the hospital, get daily weigh-ins and keep all follow-up visits to ensure his weight remains consistently increasing after discharge. During his stay, his weight increased, all X-rays were good, and now he’s good to go home.

On May 12th, 2025, he was released and went to his follow-up visit on the 13th with the pediatrician and the GI doctor on the 15th. Despite knowing he could be orally fed, CPS took him and his sister for medical neglect. While my granddaughter has been placed in foster care, we were told a week after being in CPS custody, my grandson coded again. For 2 weeks, he stayed on the ventilator. My daughter can only visit 1 hour per week. During the time her son was on the ventilator, she was denied visitation. As of court on the 25th, they now have allegations of drugs in his system but none in my granddaughter. The attorney my daughter had has withdrawn from the case.

I’m asking for any donation due to the hourly rate of fees and court hearings as they are costly. We have more hearings to come and no funds.