Arizona Mother Speaks Out on Medical Kidnapping of Her Daughters

My trial has finally started in Arizona. My family's case isn't tiny; nobody's is when it involves children's lives. For my family, it has been 14 months since both my daughters Kayla and Hannah Diegel were taken. I have seen the most horrifying images. They are etched into my brain as if a hot iron has seared it there. I not only had my children taken, but now I have become an outspoken advocate, a writer, an activist, a fighting mother that was falsely accused. Suddenly, I have found myself amongst thousands of families who are now intertwined with mine, and I can feel their pain because I know their pain...... because I LIVE THEIR PAIN. I too know what it is like to have a child ripped from my arms and taken from my home. Time keeps moving, but it's like my heart has stopped.

Arizona Mother of Two Girls Medically Kidnapped Breaks Gag Order and Speaks Out

A mother of two young girls in Arizona breaks a gag order issued by the court, in the hope that people will come forward and help her and her two daughters, whom she claims are suffering in state custody. She has now been threatened with arrest for breaking her gag order. And this all began simply because she saw her daughters suffering with medical treatment, and wanted to seek a second doctor's opinion.

A History of Medical Kidnapping at Phoenix Children’s Hospital

Earlier this month we reported the sad story of the Diegel family, who had their two daughters seized by Phoenix Children's Hospital for disagreeing with the doctors over their treatment. We have previously reported many similar stories of hospitals using Child Protection Services (CPS) to remove children from loving parents simply for disagreeing with doctors, such as Justina Pelletier at Boston Children's Hosptial, and Isaiah Rider at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago. Since publishing the Diegel family story, Health Impact News has been approached by many families with similar experiences with CPS in Phoenix, and with Phoenix Children's Hospital. These parents are terrified of coming forward and telling their story. What we have learned in our investigation is truly troubling, and needs to be exposed by the media.

Girl Seized from Family in Medical Dispute In Grave Danger

In a medical kidnapping case in Arizona of two sisters that we reported on last Thursday, one of the girls, 12 year old Kayla Diegel, is reportedly in grave danger and in need of serious medical help she is not receiving from foster care. A Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for the two girls reportedly resigned from the case over ethical concerns about how the girls were being treated in foster care. Kayla in particular was losing weight due to the fact that her feeding tube had been removed. She has a condition called “Gastroparesis,” which is a partially paralyzed stomach. She cannot take in enough nutrients by mouth, and needs the feeding tube. She has reportedly lost 25% of her body weight.

10 and 12 Year Old Sisters Seized from Family by Hospital in Phoenix

In a case bearing several similarities to Justina Pelletier's family's experience with Boston Children's Hospital, and Isaiah Rider's family's experience with Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago, 10 and 12 year old sisters have been seized by Phoenix Children's Hospital over a medical dispute. The mother has reportedly been ordered to not discuss the case with anyone, and has been forced to take down YouTube videos and a Facebook Page with over 3000 followers that was documenting the actions of Child Protection Services and doctors at Phoenix Children's Hospital. Kayla and Hannah Diegel suffer from congenital disorder of glycosylation, (CDG, a form of mitochondrial disease.) Part of their condition is also suffering with "Gastroparesis," which is a partially paralyzed stomach. As a result, they were fed through feeding tubes to bypass the stomach. During the course of their treatment, the girls' family doctor's clinic of eight years, Estrella Mountain Medical Group, suddenly sent a letter to the parents instructing them to transfer the girls to the care of Phoenix Children's Hospital Special Needs Clinic. They bounced between several different doctors at PCH, but they were all in the field of genetics. It was during this time that the girls were diagnosed with "congenital disorder of glycosylation" (CDG). Unknown to the parents at the time, there was funding and drug trials going on for this rare condition. The article on the Facebook Page reports: "The glycosylation trial whose collaborative agreement is through NHGRI/ TGEN opened up on March 14th, 2014, just 3 weeks before the two Phoenix sisters were medically kidnapped." The mother reportedly began to suspect that something was going on, as she reviewed the medical records and medications her daughters were receiving. She requested that the care of her daughters be transferred to another doctor "due to his neglect and endangerment of younger daughter i.e., not returning phone calls, ignoring her severe pain and documented bowel impaction being treated from home by registered nurses, under his supervision." Shortly after this, in April of 2014, the hospital took custody of both daughters away from the family through CPS. The family contends that the daughters are suffering since being removed from their family, as their feeding tubes have been removed. Kayla has reportedly lost 25% of her body weight after being in the custody of PCH for four months.