Another Medical Kidnap in Illinois: Infant Twins Seized from Parents over Medical Dispute
Cassaundra Brown is heartbroken because she is missing her twins' first Christmas. Instead of watching 9 month old Arianna and Dominick delight in the Christmas lights and new toys and pretty bows, she and Warnell Ludington are caught in desperate fight for their babies with DCFS, the child protective services department in Illinois, over what they believe in their hearts is a misdiagnosis. Cassaundra says, "I can't even believe this is happening." The crux of the twins' removal from their parents allegedly lies in an accusation of Shaken Baby Syndrome, a diagnosis which is surrounded by growing skepticism by medical experts, and which does not take into account Arianna's history of medical complications since her birth. Though the parents have reportedly not been charged with any crime, their children have been seized by the state; and they are only permitted to see them for two hours per week. Their visit this week was cancelled because the foster parents are out of town for the Christmas holidays. This foster home is the twins' fourth foster home in five months. Their parents are grieving because they are "missing out on every first," and just want their babies back.