Marc Herrmann (Source: Herrmann family)

By Terri LaPoint
Health Impact News

None of the story makes sense to the Herrmann family. After a series of medical misdiagnoses and incorrect treatments, their teenage son Marc was taken into custody by Canada’s Child and Family Services (CFSA) and eventually placed in foster care. Now the system wants to keep him forever, even though he turns 18 next month.

There are many questions that remain unanswered, according to Marc’s parents Patricia and Gottfried Herrmann. He was somehow diagnosed as retarded and is being held as a PDD – Person with Developmental Disabilities. Even though he will turn 18 next month, if the Canadian government has its way, Marc will not be able to go home, which is the place he wants to be more than anything else. Instead, he will become a ward of the Office of Public Guardians, an organization that was designed to care for Canada’s neediest citizens. His family wants to know why he will be taking up valuable resources that others truly need, when he obviously does not need them.

Also, he is a German citizen, not Canadian. That fact alone should disqualify the teenager whose story was originally published on MedicalKidnap.com.

The Story of Marc Herrmann Which Some Would Prefer you not Know About

Marcky Herrmann is a boy who began life with multiple health issues since he and his twin were born prematurely. However, he overcame much of those issues and grew up in a very happy and loving home. Photos of the twins growing up reveal a childhood devoted to an enormous amount of creativity and fun times. Whether they were playing cars or creating costumes of their favorite superheros or learning on computer games, they smiled a lot and were always together.

In 2012 his parents report that he got sick, was misdiagnosed several times by Dr. Adam Kirton at Alberta Children’s Hospital, and was given an incorrect treatment involving a blood plasma product, IVIG. He reportedly suffered serious side-effects from the treatment. His health deteriorated from that point, and he began losing weight.

Was Marc Taken Away from his Parents to Cover Up a Medical Mistake Made by Doctors?

Gottfried and Patricia Herrmann told Health Impact News that, instead of the doctors admitting that there had been mistakes made, they believe a cover-up was launched. Marc was seized from his parents’ custody and put into foster care, leading those who know them to question the motives behind the move by Child Protective Services.

In fact, one of the reasons cited for Marcky’s seizure by CFSA, as well as a justification for limiting his access to his family, is the very fact that his family focused on the misdiagnoses by the doctors. One of the later diagnoses was an eating disorder. Even though that diagnosis has since been retracted, Marc’s parents say they are still being villainized for being upset that their child was misdiagnosed, and subsequently not treated correctly.

In a letter the Herrmanns wrote to government officials, they express their concern that the cover-up is detracting from determining the real problems with Marc’s health: “It is not about pointing at someone’s mistake. It is about finding the right answer so that we can help Marcky before it’s too late.”

Incorrect Diagnosis Used to Keep Marc in State Care

Although there has not yet been an accurate diagnosis of Marc’s physical problems to explain why he must continuously consume 4000 calories per day in order not to lose weight, he has received a diagnosis that he is a “Person with Developmental Disabilities.” According to Alberta Human Services, such a person has “significant limitation in intellectual capacity and adaptive skills.” Funding for the PDD program is designed to assist people who need the assistance of others to help them with basic functions.

Marc asks, “Why don’t you rather spend that money on those who really need you?” He asserts that he does not need these services, and that he is not retarded.

His parents strongly disagree with this assessment as well. Indeed, Marcky’s own writings demonstrate that he is obviously not intellectually incapacitated. Despite the fact that he has been restricted from attending school for a year and a half while in foster care, Marc expresses himself beautifully in the written word.

Many of his writings may be found on the Facebook page maintained by his supporters, A child in Canada. Here is just one example:

You can not see us, hear about us, you can not even hear our cries
We are not allowed to talk about our pains
We are not allowed to talk to our parents freely
We are not allowed to inform the police even
And if so they do not listen to us because our Guardian is the States
They can do whatever they want with us
Once we die, you may hear about us but even then you may not know why we died or how we died
We are the children whom the government legally apprehended and detained in places where we are alone without love, compassion, empathy, freedom and justice
Please help us by standing up for truth and justice
Please show us a family court where there is justice for children and families
Please show us a family court where judges listen to us
Our Best interest should not be assumed by adults who do not even know the truth or do not want to know the truth
We may be weaker than adults but are we not here to be guided by a hand which shows us that this world is a beautiful place?
Since we are taken away from our families, all we see is that
“Money, Power, Injustice and Lies rule the world”

There are guidelines clearly stated by the Albertan government for a person to be considered PDD, covering a variety of skills and tasks. In a recent letter that the Herrmanns sent to several officials in the Canadian government, they dispute every point, maintaining that Marc does not qualify for the designation of PDD and therefore should not be in that system.

• Writing – He surely can.
• Personal Preferences – This is what you all have been ignoring him and denying him.
• Personal hygiene – He is a Teenage boy yet he knows how to
• Toileting – Sure he does
• Dressing appropriately – He knows
• Food preparation and storage – He was cooking for himself since years
• Eating – Yes he can
• Medication – Sure he can or else he would not have called mental advocates while he was in Unit 26
• Housekeeping – He is in his teen years but He has been doing this since he was small
• Public transportation – He needs to learn that again but how ? when no one supported him lately?
• Emergency services – Sure he knows but how he does not even have a phone or internet? CFS and Dr made sure he does not have access to knowledge
• Health and safety hazards – These questions are all useless ones because Marcky knows all these
• Obeying the laws – If he would not obey law he would not be in their care
• Personal Choices – Isn’t that what you have denied him all time?
• Social Skills – Marcky is so friendly and can socialize pretty well and everyone loves him
• Communication – Yes he can but do not forget, he is a German Kid and he grew up with German as 1st language

Interestingly, one of the guiding principles for the funding of the PDD program is “choice.” Marc has repeatedly expressed his choice that he wishes to be evaluated and get a second opinion from someone who is not connected with the medical/court system that took him. That request has repeatedly denied, as has his request and cries to be sent home to his family.

Office of Public Guardian wants Custody Even After Marc Becomes an Adult

Because he is designated as PDD, the Canadian authorities have allegedly made it clear that Marc is to be handed over to the Office of Public Guardian as soon as he reaches age 18 next month. If this happens, he will remain a ward of the state, possibly indefinitely. Just as the diagnosis of PDD means that public funds are being used to support him, so would the placement of Marc under the OPG utilize taxpayer funding, funding which is designed to be used for Canadian citizens, not immigrants, especially when needy citizens have been turned away due to lack of funding.

His parents have been informed that they are ineligible to apply to be his guardians through the OPG, because they are not Canadian citizens. They are German. However, Marc is German as well and should not fall under their jurisdiction. A requirement of eligibility for the OPG program is citizenship.

What is the Best Interest for This Family?

The rationale behind many of the seizures of children from their parents is that it is “in the best interest of the child.” Patricia Herrmann says that “his best interest is that he is happy and healthy.” It is quite clear from Marc’s writings that he is not happy, nor does he feel safe in the situation he is currently in. He wants desperately to be returned home to his family.

Marc and his twin brother grew up very happy children. The separation of the twins has been very difficult. His parents were never charged with any crime, yet Canada continues to keep him from his family. They also have prevented any attempt at a second opinion, which they believe would truly be in the best interest of their child. He just wants to go home, and he tells anyone who will listen that the best place for him would be with his family.

Marc’s mother told Health Impact News:

For them it’s a case number; for me it’s a child.

Here are some people that are reportedly connected with Marc’s story. It has been made very clear by the Canadian officials that these people do not wish to be contacted. However, this contact information is from public sources. International phone rates apply from the US.

The Office of the Public Guardian  888-357-9339 or 877-427-4525

The staff of the Persons with Developmental Disabilities program 403-297-5011 or email.

Human Services Minister Heather Klimchuck 780-455-7979. Her email is here. She has a Twitter account @HeatherKlimchuck.

Human Services Associate Minister Naresh Bhardwaj has a Twitter account @MLA_Bhardwaj.

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