Was Medical Kidnap in Washington State a Cover-up for Medical Malpractice?

Kevin Kulman shows where he had heart surgery. His mother was accused of Munchausen by Proxy (faking medical symptoms) to justify taking him into State custody. Image source YouTube.

Branded the “Munchausen by Proxy” Mom

by Denise Easthon
Health Impact News

Being worried about Child Protection Services (CPS) taking her child was the last thing on the mind of Anne Giroux, a mother living in Washington State who was seeking medical treatment for her son, Kevin Kulman.

Her story began in 2009 when her son Kevin started having concerning symptoms which drove her to take him to multiple doctor visits looking for an answer. He was having shortness of breath, he was sleeping 16-20 hours day, he had increased absences from school. There were visits made to the ER with chest pain, as well as visits to the regular physician.

She worried about having a family history of heart disease and why the doctor wasn’t concerned nor would he give her a referral to a cardiologist. For the next year the symptoms continued. He was treated as if there were no issues associated with his heart.

Instead he was allegedly misdiagnosed as having asthma. In 2011, attempting to acquire a sports physical for Kevin, the family physician refused to sign it, since he’d had previous chest pain. Instead, he referred them to a cardiologist. He allegedly refused to give Kevin’s medical records to Anne even though she was entitled to them. When the cardiologist saw Kevin and performed an echocardiogram, he made no diagnosis or recommendations concerning his heart according to Anne, but instead he was diagnosed with asthma.

Kevin has a Heart Attack – Rare Surgery Followed

On May 21, 2012 Kevin suffered a heart attack while at school during his physical education class. The explanation of why he suffered the heart attack was a rare congenital heart condition which had been previously undetected: AAOCA: Anomalous Aortic Origin of a Coronary Artery.

According to Children’s Heart Foundation, this anomaly is associated with such a high risk of sudden death, which is increased during or just after exercise in what appears to be otherwise healthy children and young adults. It is a leading cause of sudden death in children and young adults participating in sports. More than 90% of affected individuals have an abnormal resting electrocardiogram. Most times this condition is found post mortem.

For Kevin, though, he was able to have corrective open heart surgery on July 3, 2012 at Seattle Children’s Hospital in Seattle Washington. According to Anne, his surgery was the very first surgery ever performed by his cardiac surgeons. It was videotaped and shared in a conference with cardiologists from all over the world, and published in medical journals.

After Kevin’s Heart Surgery a Nightmare Began for Anne and her Family

Anne Giroux – Image from YouTube.

While in the hospital Kevin had his first pleural effusion. Around August 8, 2012 he had a cardiac tamponaude requiring another procedure. With each prescription of prednisone he became increasingly more uncomfortable with irritability, inability to sleep and increased appetite which caused weight gain.

His pain medications caused nausea and headaches requiring other medications to alleviate those effects. He has had a chronic deep dry cough since surgery and has been unable to lay flat without difficulty breathing.

The doctors told Anne his chest pain following up to this finding was not cardiac related and insisted they stop calling/going to the ER for chest pains and breathing difficulties. They claimed it was a result of de-conditioning, and their prescription was for him to play basketball and be more physically active. However they wouldn’t authorize him to have PE at school or do a cardiac stress test.

Kevin was admitted to the hospital and administered a variety of medications on multiple occasions when the recurring complications had become very severe. He would be diagnosed with pneumonia and elevated cardiac blood levels and would require oxygen. Prior to each hospitalization there would be 2-3 visits to the ER with the same symptoms of chest pains, and difficulty breathing while laying down. He would be told again it was not cardiac related and dismissed.

Kevin would develop hives, a headache, nausea, and vomit when morphine was given, and still the physicians allegedly wanted to continue to administer it. They apparently didn’t believe it was an allergic reaction. After a year, they charted him to have a POSSIBLE allergic reaction to morphine. Prednisone allegedly causes his stomach to have pain which even other medications don’t help.

Medical records documented the cardiologist had 1-2 visits and wrote “maternal anxiety” in Kevin’s chart. Later Anne wondered if that could be a “code” or could it be that he just made a medical error?

What mother would NOT have anxiety after her teenage son suffered a heart attack and subsequent open heart surgery and still had lingering symptoms which showed no promise of abating?

CPS Takes Custody

When one of the physicians who was involved in the case reported Anne to CPS with allegations of “Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy” CPS intervened and took custody of the teenager. Munchausen by Proxy syndrome is a condition in which a person intentionally fakes, simulates, worsens, or self-induces an injury or illness for the main purpose of being treated like a medical patient. Named after a German military man, Baron von Munchausen, who traveled around telling fantastic tales about his imaginary exploits. In 1951, Richard Asher applied the term to people traveling from hospital to hospital, fabricating various illnesses. (See: Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy: A Fake Psychiatric Disorder Used to Medically Kidnap Children?)

If Anne was indeed “faking symptoms” to have her son treated, then why did he suffer a heart attack and why did the physicians involved perform open heart surgery if nothing was wrong with him? Anne asked:

“If a doctor performs an operation and prescribes drugs for my child based upon ME having Munchausen by proxy, what PSYCHIATRIC MALADY afflicts THE DOCTOR?”

Anne wonders if the insurance company, doctors, lawyers and judges were just attempting to circumvent any liability for medical malpractice by focusing all blame on her.

In November 2012 Kevin was removed from his home and underwent sleep deprivation, extreme trauma of being told by his doctors that his chest pains were not cardiac related, and being further ignored until he collapsed and was diagnosed with pericardial effusion, pleural effusion, and pneumonia. He was also told he may never see his mother again because his symptoms were not real, even though they were treating him.

Anne believes that Dr. Matthew Park, Dr. Maggie Likes, Dr. Roberta Stephenson, and Dr. Mason Oltman among other defendants named in her lawsuit conspired to falsify the medical treatment history in order to support their malevolent plan to paint the plaintiff as someone suffering from MSBP and to then make a false referral to Pierce County CPS.

Case Dismissed but Lives Ruined

Even though the case against her was eventually dismissed, and Kevin eventually returned, Anne is still branded with the stigma of being a child abuser. She is still suffering the results of having lost her job because of false allegations. It still took them a year, a year she won’t ever get back, a year of lost income and lost employment. She has suffered insurmountable financial and emotional damages which have devastated her whole family. She has no job, no car, no money and is facing her home foreclosure.

Anne has been cleared and regained custody of her son who is now over 18 years old. When asked how he feels about now being an adult and free from threat of being removed from his home Kevin responds,

“I feel relief since CPS can’t bother me, but my new fear since I’m adult is that they can charge me and falsely accuse me of things.”

Anne is filing suit asking for the removal, under WA const. Art 4, Sect 9, of the corrupt judges whom she feels have set themselves up as “gods,” making unfounded psychiatric diagnoses which enable them to arrest people and then remove their children. She has sought assistance from various Senators and Representatives for help against their criminal conduct.

The following are named in her correspondence: 1) Judge James Orlando; 2) Judge Elizabeth Martin; 3) Commissioner Diana Lynn Kiesel and 4) Judge Kitty- Ann van.

You can see copies of her correspondence here.

The following quote is found on Anne’s GOFUNDME site:

“The fight for justice against corruption is never easy. It never has been and never will be. It exacts a toll on our self, our families, our friends, and especially our children. In the end, I believe, as in my case, the price we pay is well worth holding on to our dignity.”
~Frank Serpico

Here is Anne telling her story in her own words:

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Published on February 28, 2015