Is a Sick Child an Asset to a Bankrupt State?

When I try to grasp what Michelle and Isaiah Rider’s life has become over the past year I think of nightmares so horrible you make a conscious effort to wake yourself up. Tragically, there is no waking up from this. On March 11, an Illinois judge plunged this small family of two deeper into the dark world of Illinois’ Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

Michelle and Isaiah Rider. Photo curtesty of Michelle Rider

Michelle and Isaiah are now living in what seems like a strange, alternate world where the freedoms they once believed they had don’t exist. Now they are captive to a system that tears apart families and devours children. The two entered this real-life Twilight Zone when they traveled to Illinois for Isaiah’s much-needed surgery.

Due to a rare neurological condition, painful tumors developed along Isaiah’s nerves. Although Michelle and Isaiah are both residents of Missouri, it was decided, together with their doctor, to travel to Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago for the surgery. When complications set in, as they often did for Isaiah, the hospital was ill-equipped to diagnose or relieve his suffering. Michelle, a registered nurse by profession, believed it was her right and responsibility as his mother to have her son transferred to a hospital that had successfully treated him in the past.

The hospital administration did not see it that way.

Instead of complying, two social workers and the director of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) led Michelle into a small room. There she was stripped of her hospital band and parental rights. After informing the distraught mother they were charging her with “medical child abuse” (also known as Munchausen by proxy), they waited for her to stop sobbing and escorted her out of the hospital.

While in the ICU, Isaiah was forcibly separated from his mother far beyond the customary 48 hours. He was not allowed to see or hear from his mother for 24 days. He was then dumped in a foster home.

That was over a year ago. You can catch up on their story in more detail here, here and at The Blaze.

Since then a lot has happened. While Isaiah was recovering from his ordeal in foster care, his mother told PJ Lifestyle that her son was raped at gunpoint. Although Isaiah reported the assault, the crime was not fully investigated. Instead, his case is showing all the earmarks of a coverup.

Isaiah has continued to suffer from the same complications of his condition. Most recently, his mother told PJ Lifestyle that Isaiah was diagnosed with a lesion on his brain. For the last three months, his family has tried in vain to get medical help. However, the state of Illinois must approve every aspect of his care — and they are neglectfully slow.

Isaiah’s condition has not changed but has instead worsened outside of his mother’s care.

This is significant because according to CriticalCareNurse Vol 30, No. 6, DECEMBER 2010

Both the diagnosis and the cure for the victim of MSbP [Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy] is complete separation from the perpetrator, a total parentectomy.

Is there more to this story? That is a distinct possibility.

“There must be more to the story,” is the first and natural response to a story like this. It’s a defense mechanism. There is a tendency to think that the government and the agencies we give authority to are just. We need to believe that a “service” intended to protect children does just that.

The problem with this false sense of security lies in the idea that government institutions are inherently good. Since these are made up of human beings, we also assume that people are trustworthy and moral by nature.

On what do we base this assumption?

This is not a biblical principle, nor is it one the Founding Fathers believed. They saw the vices of government and men and attempted to put checks and balances in place. Although they knew and understood corrupted power, it’s doubtful they could fathom our republic so infected with cultural Marxism that it would become incapable of recognizing rudimentary parental rights.

What if the system is not good? What if men and women steeped in their selfish desires use their power for their gain? Then there certainly would be more to this story.

The state of Illinois has refused to loosen its grip on this boy.

Consider this: Isaiah reported he was raped at gunpoint while in foster care. His pleas for help have gone virtually ignored. He has pleaded to go home. He was not allowed into a courtroom where his fate was being decided.

What does a bankrupt state, riddled with corruption, have to gain by holding on to a young man with chronic medical needs?

Let’s look at the roots of all evil. When looking for a motive, follow the money trail. A child is a valuable commodity in a morally bankrupt culture. Michelle Rider said she noticed a notation on Isaiah’s transfer papers, which stated he is Title IV-E eligible:

“Funding is awarded by formula as an open-ended entitlement grant and is contingent upon an approved title IV-E plan to administer or supervise the administration of the program… Funds are available for monthly maintenance payments for the daily care and supervision of eligible children; administrative costs to manage the program; training of staff and foster care providers; recruitment of foster parents and costs related to the design, implementation and operation of a state-wide data collection system.” Children’s Bureau

The incentive and motive are surely there for the agency. What about the individuals involved? What could they possibly have to gain that would justify robbing this or any other family of their most elementary human needs — their parental rights?

Stay on that money trail. It leads deeper and deeper into the lowest bowels of a very sick culture.