A Parent's Worst Nightmare (page 3 of 4)

Osteogenesis Imperfecta

Miguel was released on bond, but more problems began. He had been well into the process of becoming an American citizen. Now, because he had been charged with a felony, he faced possible deportation.

At her job at the Pentagon, Alice was reprimanded for crying on duty. Her weight plummeted. She fainted during physical training.

Every time the couple saw Liliana, they felt frantic. Their baby looked dirty, had diaper rash, or seemed feverish or weak. Once, they saw mold in her bottle. She didn't seem to be growing. The Velasquezes say they reported all this to their social worker and their court-appointed lawyers. Little was done; nothing changed.

In the spring, the public defender in Miguel's criminal case finally got a court order to test the child. The results didn't come back until September. But when they did, they confirmed Liliana had osteogenesis imperfecta type I. The main symptom: fractures.

When he heard about the diagnosis, the prosecutor for the Commonwealth of Virginia, Roger Canaff, consulted Dr. Craig. She wrote later in a memo that the test was "experimental in nature," and that doctors looking at the x-rays of a child with OI should see evidence of the faulty bones. Liliana's bones, she said, looked "completely normal." Other military doctors, then and later on the witness stand, said the same.

In fact, the test of bone collagen had been the "gold standard" for OI since the late 1980s. Insurance companies routinely reimbursed for it. It was very reliable. If a test is negative for OI, there is a chance a child might still have the disease, but there are no false positives. The military doctors were simply wrong in their beliefs.

But then the doctors took the position that even if Liliana did have OI, she still had been physically abused. E-mails between prosecutor Canaff and Dr. Craig said that the Velasquezes "lie and exaggerate," make "bizarre statements" and "cannot be trusted."

Canaff offered to reduce the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor if Miguel would plead guilty. Miguel responded that he had not harmed his child and would never say he had.

In October 2000, about a month after the OI diagnosis, Alice and Miguel found a large, festering burn on the top of Liliana's right foot. The child was still in foster care. They photographed the burn and went before a judge, showing the pictures and citing other failures they perceived in her care. They wanted Liliana back. Failing that, they wanted her in a different foster home.

They lost.

A few months later, the social workers refused to let the Velasquezes see Liliana at all unless they agreed not to take anything but family photos, and not to change her clothes.

By this time in the ordeal, Alice's weight had dropped from 140 pounds to 82. She had to take a hardship discharge from the Army. That meant they had no income and no health insurance -- and Alexandria Social Services was charging them almost $700 a month for Liliana's child support. Miguel still had immigration issues, and his name had been put on Virginia's "abuser" registry. It became nearly impossible for him to find work.

Alice and Miguel had not seen their daughter for two months when they learned just before Christmas that she was in the hospital. Liliana had been brought in by ambulance, unconscious. Her blood sugar count was low. Seemingly she hadn't been fed.

A nurse privately told Alice, "Your baby has been hospitalized here many times before." Then she explained how to get Liliana's hospital records.

Alice discovered the baby had been hospitalized a total of seven times, often for dehydration. Neither the Velasquezes, Liliana's court-appointed attorney, nor her pediatrician had been informed.

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