The four Headley boys who were removed from their home by force. Image supplied by family.
by Health Impact News/MedicalKidnap.com
A parent’s worst nightmare happened on July 10, 2015 in Spartanburg, South Carolina. That unexpected knock on the door came for the Headley family. According to mom, Danielle Headley, the reality was much worse than a knock on the door.
In the early morning hours on July 10, 2015, the Spartanburg County Police walked right in the front door of the Headley’s home while Danielle and her four boys were sleeping.
William Headley had left for work earlier that morning and the front door was unlocked because the family felt safe in their community.
Danielle stated that a female officer, later identified as Investigator Tracy Moss, walked into her bedroom and asked if she was Danielle Headley. Danielle replied that she was.
Danielle states:
“The cops busted into my house, didn’t knock or identify themselves. She (the investigator) said they have a search warrant and you need to get up and get up now!”
Investigator Moss proceeded to demand that Danielle remove Jack from the crib in her room, unhook his feeding tube and bring him into the family’s living room.
When Danielle walked into the living room, her three older boys were lined up on the couch.
Danielle stated that:
“Apparently she got my kids from their bedrooms before she came into my room.”
Family Home Searched and Children Taken Away due to a “Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy” Medical Claim
Danielle with her four boys. Photo supplied by family.
According to Danielle, there were five or six officers to assist executing a search warrant for all electronics and medications in their home.
The Emergency Removal Order served on that day states that they were contacted by Greenville Health System, Dr. Nancy Henderson, and the Headley’s four children needed to be removed due to mother being suspected of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy.
Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSBP or MBP) is an outdated term used for a mental illness where a caretaker of a child, usually a mother, either makes up fake symptoms or causes real symptoms to make it look like the child is sick in order to get attention.
According to the DSM-5, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th Edition, written by the American Psychiatric Association, the correct term for this mental disorder is Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another (FDIA), not Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy.
Danielle Headley states:
They are claiming I’m making Jack sick and he has no medical problems although he has been tested for everything he has and diagnosed by doctors.
They say I put him through unnecessary surgeries and medical procedures. They said he has no medical problems yet they separated Jack from his brothers and put him in the hospital for the medical problems they say he doesn’t have.
It all started when I threatened a second opinion. I don’t understand any of this, my whole world has been torn apart. My life was turned upside down. My kids are my whole world. I don’t know how to keep living without them and I don’t understand any of this. It’s so wrong. I feel so alone.
How can they take kids from a home where they are happy and well taken care of? I’ve never had a criminal history not drugs or alcohol not even cigarettes. I just don’t understand.
Youngest Boy Jack has Had Health Problems Since Birth
Jack Headley with feeding tube. Image supplied by family.
Danielle and William Headley have a family of four boys; Conner age 11, Nick age 8, Gabe age 5 and Jack. Jack, nicknamed Peanut, is the youngest, he will be four years old this August.
Jack has endured many health problems for his young age, beginning in his mother’s womb with a condition called IUGR (Intrauterine Growth Restriction). IUGR is when the baby is not growing at a normal rate inside of the womb. This can lead to problems after birth, including; hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), low resistance to infection, increased risk for motor and neurological disabilities.
Danielle stated that Jack has suffered from numerous health problems that were diagnosed by doctors, including the following; Short Chain Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase (SCAD) Deficiency, a condition that prevents the body from converting certain fats into energy, gastroparesis, asthma, primary immunodeficiency disease, reactive airway disease, hypotonia and FTT (Failure to Thrive).
Mom states:
“Jack has had over 30 hospital stays, 12 surgeries (his very first was ear tubes) and he has had so much fluid and infection it was the worst case the ENT had ever seen”.
The Headley’s just found out that according to the doctor, Jack’s ear tubes were not placed correctly, and in fact, have not worked for over two years. Jack failed a hearing test in his right ear, he has major speech and neurologic regressions and a recent MRI of his brain shows he has fluid and infection built up around both of his ears.
Jack will be having his 13th surgery to fix his ear tubes in the near future. Additionally, due to the illnesses including FTT, Jack is fed through a feeding tube, G-tube, that is placed in his stomach.
The family is under the care of pediatrician, Dr. Monica Greenbaum, and in addition, Jack has specialists for his diagnosed health conditions.
Danielle is a stay at home mom and William currently works two jobs. Danielle herself is suffering from Multiple Sclerosis and Epilepsy. Danielle’s mother, Tonda Vess, helps her care for the four children.
Child Abuse Specialist Steps in When Mom Asks for Referral to Another Hospital
William Headley with his four sons.
The Headley’s say they are loving, caring parents who work hard and take care of their children, so why? Why would a hospital allege the mother is anything other than a caring mother who is advocating for her children’s health?
On July 4, 2015, Jack Headley was discharged from Greenville Memorial Hospital where he had been admitted due to ongoing severe constipation. This was the third time that Jack was admitted to Greenville Memorial Hospital for this particular health problem.
Danielle did not know that there were any issues with the hospital at the time of Jack’s release. She stated that she was a little upset that they had to take Jack to the hospital three times in the months of June and July 2015 for the same problem, but the discharge was uneventful.
When Jack was home from the hospital, he was doing well with the new medication regimen prescribed by the hospital, according to mom. She said that he had more energy and was doing better than normal. Danielle feels that the only reason the hospital contacted Spartanburg Department of Social Services is because she made a comment to the gastrointestinal doctor that if the hospital could not deal with this health problem she would take him to another facility.
The GI doctor stated he would give her a referral, but never did. According to Danielle, instead of a referral to another hospital, one of the inpatient doctors referred her case to a child abuse pediatrics specialist for the hospital, Dr. Nancy A. Henderson. The Headley family says they had never seen or heard of Dr. Henderson.
Dr. Nancy Henderson – Child Abuse Specialist. Image from YouTube.
Dr. Henderson is board certified in a new pediatric specialty that started in 2010: Child Abuse Specialist. To learn more about this new controversial pediatric specialty, and how their job and income depend on finding “abuse” to justify the existence of this new specialty, see:
Are New Pediatric “Child Abuse Specialists” Causing an Increase in Medical Kidnappings?
Parental Rights Violated – No Charges Filed Against Parents
The Headley Family. Photo supplied by family.
Danielle Headley was contacted a couple of hours following the seizure of her four children by the Spartanburg County Department of Social Services Investigator, Danielle Bowles. Danielle was informed that her older three boys were taken to a group home, but she wasn’t told where or the name of the home. She was told that Jack was taken to the Greenville Memorial Hospital and admitted.
A hearing was held on July 13, 2015 and there was an order by Judge Hope Black that Danielle and William Headley were not allowed to talk to or see their children until DSS completed psychiatric evaluations of all of the Headley children. A guardian ad litem, Jean Bradley, was assigned to the children.
On July 27, 2015 at 10:00 am, Spartanburg County DSS held a Safety Plan Meeting for the Headley family. In attendance was Danielle and William Headley, Danielle’s mother Tonda Vess, DSS Inspector Danielle Bowles, DSS case worker, Rachel, Guardian ad litem Jean Bradley and a representative from the Child Advocacy Program. The purpose of the safety meeting was to put a plan into action for the Headley’s to work towards getting their children back home.
Danielle said that both parents were required to take parenting classes and that Danielle was required to have a psych evaluation. The Headley’s were given a very brief status of their children, as follows; the three older children were at a group home, were happy and doing well.
The DSS case worker stated that the children at the group home were allowed to have visits with their families and her boys wanted to know when they could see mom and dad. They informed the parents that Jack had been released from the hospital, but did not give them any more information about him other than that he was eating chicken nuggets and happy.
Ms. Bowles told Danielle that “no matter what happens, you will have your boys back within 7 months.” At this time, Danielle asked if she needed to get her own evaluation by an independent psychologist/psychiatrist and the social worker stated that this would be a waste of her time and money because the department would be using “their own people.”
Ms. Bowles also requested that all three family members, Danielle, William and Tonda Vess, were required to do a drug test. The three adults had to submit hair and urine samples for the Spartanburg County Department of Social Services.
Finally, after all this family has endured at the hands of Spartanburg County, Danielle was informed that her family will have to pay DSS child support for caring for her children!
The family has a Facebook site for Jack entitled, My Littlest Peanut: Jack’s Journey with FTT
The site has photographs and videos of Jack which appears to exhibit a strong family support system and a happy little boy who tries his best.
Mom states,
“Jack is fed through a G-tube in his tummy and he thinks that is pretty cool….He has these amazing blue eyes that you could get lost in and Jack never ever meets a stranger.”
Justice for Jack. Image from Facebook – My Littlest Peanut: Jack’s Journey with FTT.
URGENT: How You Can Help
On July 28, 2015, Danielle Headley received an automatic message from Greenville Health Department stating that Jack has an appointment with Greenville Health Department on Friday, July 31, 2015 at 4pm. Danielle is horrified that there is a possibility that Jack will be vaccinated without her permission.
Jack has an immunodeficiency and does not become immune to what the vaccines prevent and he also has bad reactions,
“The last time Jack was vaccinated at 18 months, he got very sick and was hospitalized. Please tell me that they cannot vaccinate without my permission?”
This is a very critical issue for Jack and we are asking our readers to assist with a phone call to prevent Jack from becoming ill by vaccinations. The Spartanburg County DSS phone number is (864) 596-3001.
The next court date for Danielle and William Headley is on August 10, 2015, they are represented by Donald Smith, a lawyer from Anderson, South Carolina.
Governor of South Carolina is Nikki Haley at 803-734-2100. She can be contacted here.
4th Congressional District – Harold Watson “Trey” Gowdy III at 864-241-0175, 202-225-6030. He can be contacted here.
Spartanburg County Department Social Services – Danielle Bowles at 864-426-3610. Contact their office here.
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