Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Jarayha Wolf and Jonathan McCleod: New York; Shaken baby syndrome: "Every parents nightmare: Doctors said they shook their baby to death. They didn't." An utterly compelling story by reporter Rachel Blustain published by The Daily Beast;

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This superb article is far too complex to summarize for the benefit of our readers  as is customary with this Blog. I have therefore chosen to confine the 'GIST' to a few short paragraphs which will quickly be seen as the start of a horror story which has started this way all too many times in which  loving parents and caregivers are criminalized by the  pseudo-scientific  so-called 'shaken baby syndrome.'

Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.

STORY: "Every parents nightmare: Doctors said they shook their baby to death. They didn't,"   by reporter Rachel Blustain, published by The Daily Beast on October 3, 2016. (Rachel Blustain is the editorial director of Rise, a publication written by and for parents involved in the child-welfare system.)

SUB-HEADING: "When Jarayha and Jonathan’s baby boy died, they had no idea they’d be blamed for shaking him to death. Three years later, their names were finally cleared."

GIST: "The doctors told them that Cameron was suffering from meningitis and pneumonia and that they would be treating him aggressively with antibiotics. After they hooked Cameron up to a ventilator, Jarayha saw Cameron look at her, close his eyes, then look at her again. She allowed herself to hope. Next, the hospital intubated Cameron. When they opened the curtains around his bed, wires were hanging everywhere and Cameron was again unresponsive. Still, like a broken record, the nurse repeated: “He’s okay, Mom. He’s doing good.” But soon after, told her that Cameron wasn’t responding to the medication. It was unlikely he would last the night. Then 24 hours passed. “In my head I thought, ‘He’s still here. It’s 24 hours. He’s going to be OK,’” Jarayha recalled. But early on October 5, a doctor approached again. Cameron was likely brain dead. By then, some of the doctors at Montefiore Children’s Hospital had begun to think that someone had done something terrible to Cameron—and the most likely suspects were Jarayha and Jonathan. That’s because Cameron was suffering from the classic triad of bleeding behind the eyes, bleeding around the brain, and brain swelling, used to diagnosis Abusive Head Trauma (AHT), formerly known as Shaken Baby Syndrome. Neither Jarayha nor Jonathan could explain why; what they quickly learned is that when it comes to child abuse, lack of an explanation is quickly equated with guilt.""
The entire story can be found at:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/10/03/doctors-said-they-shook-their-baby-to-death-they-didn-t.html?via=newsletter&source=DDAfternoon

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:  I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:  http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html  Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  
Harold Levy. Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.