Have some horrible news

[KBear]

CL- It is Jerry Riley; but I usually call him Riley (it's just me that calls him that, it just fits. But with talking to family and cps, I am having to call him Jerry, so now I'm back to saying that).

There is one other person trying to get custody of the child and that is the mother's 1/2 sister. The mother was asked to give 3 names, in order of who she would like to have the child placed with first. She put her sister, then myself and my husband. At this point, cps will first see if her sister is fit and if so, she will get the child. If not, they then will look into my husband and I. The only option my husband and I have to bypass this, is to hire a lawyer and fight for him. Right now, we don't have the money to do this, or a way to get it. I am checking into seeing if the attorney my sister in law works for will do this pro-bono. The major thing in my favor is that the sister works and I do not. The baby will most likely not be allowed into a daycare setting, as he will be prone to infections. He will also need lots of medical care and have many doctor appointments, which I would be able to take him to. I also have a 4th bedroom in my home, where he would have his own room (of course he would be in my room for quite some time at night). I am praying and trusting God that He will place Jerry right where he wants him and will be best for him, whether that is with me or not.

I am also praying that the father is prosecuted to the fullest extent. What he did was unexcusable. I have never liked this guy, as I have zero tolerance for any man who hits a woman, there is absolutely no excuse for that and no woman deserves to be hit. I hope he rots in jail and more evil things, that I won't go into detail of.

[Cindylou]

Kathy, thank-you for the clarification. I think your prospects for getting little Jerry sound very promising, especially given, like you said, that you "are available 24/7," (which he is definitely going to need) a 4th bedroom, and you are a 2 parent household. Is the sister married? I will definitely pray God's will for this little guy, and I don't want to jump the gun, but........maybe he is your last baby you have been wanting so much? I pray it may be so.

[KBear]

Kathy, thank-you for the clarification. I think your prospects for getting little Jerry sound very promising, especially given, like you said, that you "are available 24/7," (which he is definitely going to need) a 4th bedroom, and you are a 2 parent household. Is the sister married? I will definitely pray God's will for this little guy, and I don't want to jump the gun, but........maybe he is your last baby you have been wanting so much? I pray it may be so.

Trust me, that exact thought has crossed my mind too. Trying not to get my hopes up.


I took the mother of the baby to see him today. I did not get to see him; but did get an update on him. He is in the ICU burn unit and is alert and off of the ventilator. He smiled and cooed at her and grabbed her finger. His burns were covered, so she did not see them. He had a cast on his left arm and a cast on his right leg (I had not heard about a break in the leg; but am assuming it must be broken if it is casted). His wrists were taped to stabilize them. I am so happy that he was doing good and it looks like he does not have brain damage, Praise God! I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off me, as I have just been worried sick about him. Thank you all for your prayers and concern.

[Cindylou]

Wonderful news Kathy on the "no brain damage." And he's alert and cooing. All good! Thank-you for sharing that. I have been thinking about him so much. I know this is a difficult thing to deal with over the Christmas holiday. I will keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers as well.

[SemperFi]

Kathy,
I'm so sorry to have read about this terrible news. Glad to hear Jason was arrested and hope he never makes bail..

I'm really hoping the baby will improve and if you are able to gain custody and legally adopt the child that sounds like it would be ideal.

I have a friend whose great grandchildren had to be taken out of the custody of the parents because of neglect/abuse as they are both drug addicts. The mother did clean up and has the children back and my friend was very upset about this and still is.. so hopefully this baby will get well and be with a responsible and loving family forever.

Maria

[KBear]

I got some court documents, regarding cps cusody of Jerry. I asked the mother into getting me a copy, because since I was not a party to the hearing, I got not just go get them. I got these last week and they made me absolutely sick to my stomach. I am disgusted by both parents actions.

The documents had a report from the Dr who is a child abuse specialist pediatrician. The injuries are worse than I even imagined. Jerry has a broken tibia, tibula and fibula in his left leg, a broken tibia and fibula in his right leg, his left upper arm is broken (can't remember the bone's name), as well as both wrists are broken. These fractures are corner fractures, which the report says are highly indicative of child abuse. The tibia and wrists fractures are buckle fractures, which to my understanding are from your wrist being pushed backward to your arm and the bone 'buckles', these also indicate child abuse. There was a diagram of the burns on the child, and they are everywhere on the upper body, splattered, obviously not from a single heating pack burn. It says 16% of his body is burned. It also says that he was bruised down his spine, on his arms, under his arms, on his face, chest, on the ears, and behind the ears. They also think that some of the burns on the stomach are from cigarettes.
I can not even imagine what the father did to this innocent baby to cause this extent of injuries. The dad even admitted to police that "whenever Jerry cries, something in me just wants to snap". I am absolutely disgusted and hope he rots in hell.

Since the abuse happened, the mother has admitted to alot of stuff, that I had no idea about. She basically said she felt the dad was too rough with the child and had hurt him, yet she did nothing. She was charged with failure to report child abuse and I doubt that is the only charge she gets.

The report also said that cps did not feel family was a good placement, since we knew about domestic violence. It stated that they weren't sure we would be protective enough. I have wrote cps a letter disputing this and let them know, that at no time did I have any knowledge of the mother living with the father. She was staying with her mom when Jerry was born, then she had went back to the dad (but I did not find this out, until she had left him again). This is the whole reason I was watching Jerry, because she was living with her mom and did not want the dad to have access to the child. I also refused access to the dad when I had Jerry, he tried to pick him up and I said no. I had told the mother I never would release Jerry to him, even she had wanted me to, and she agreed he should never have Jerry. This is why it was such a shock that she let the dad watch Jerry in the first place. We are supposed to have a family meeting set up by cps in Jan, to decide what is best for Jerry. I am still hopeful that my husband and I will get him.

Jerry is now out of the hospital and in foster care. The doctors are concerned that the leg breaks could cause him growth problems, I believe because they are growth plates, not sure though? So, please continue to pray for Jerry, his healing and that he ends up in the best place for him.

[KBear]

Almost forgot, the report also said that there was some swelling on the right side of Jerry's brain. They were unsure if this was from the inflammation in his body causing it to swell, or if he had been shaken. From my understanding, only time will tell if there is any brain damage. I'm praying he doesn't.

[Cindylou]

Kathy, even tho the news is crushing about little Jerry R., the better news is that it sounds like this Dad will go away for life, and he will never be able to lay as much as a finger on Jerry ever again. My thoughts are with you while you wait for the hearing. Be strong. I know you will.

[Katie]

Kathy, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family right now.

Hopefully CPS will understand how much love you have for Jerry and what a good home you would provide. Can you get letters of referral from your church, school and others who know you well, that may have some influence?

I hope the New Year starts out well for all concerned.

[Cindylou]

Some good tips there Katie for referrals. I would consider some of this Kathy. Keep us posted.