Never Judge A Book By It's Cover

Adele Joicey is a 41 year old UK woman.
A loving mother to her 4  adorable children; Erin 9, Esme 6 and twin boys Luke and Ryan 2.
Two of Adele's beautiful children; Esme and Ryan both have disabilities.

During a visit to Adele's GP due to Ryan being poorly, the doctor noticed a small mark upon Ryan's body which was unexplainable the GP referred the child over to Social Services.
Despite the fact that all children, especially toddlers tumble and fall and often present themselves with lumps, bumps, cuts and bruises.
"We can't watch our children 24/7 and we shouldn't have to either, they still need their own independence"
When Social Services became involved they addressed the case as a "non accidental injury" which meant they believed that someone, such as his mother, had deliberately hurt Ryan.

Adele has kindly agreed to an interview with me regarding her children and what happened.

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Adele's Interview:

What health issues do your children have?
The twins were born 10 weeks prematurely and an ultrasound head scan when Ryan was 48 hours old detected a large bleed in his brain.
This was followed up by an MRI in February 2014 which confirmed a large part of Ryan's brain had been damaged by a stroke soon after birth.
Ryan has hemiplegic cerebral palsy and his right side is affected.
Esme has Down Syndrome and significant sensory issues so is currently being assessed for autism.
Esme was diagnosed at 8 weeks old following a blood test.
Esme has a life long learning disability, the biggest impact is speech and behaviour problems.

What support do you receive?
In terms of support we access 8 hours of direct payments per week to employ a support worker.

During a visit to your GP, a mark was found on Ryan.
What happened next?
After the GP reported the mark we had to wait for a social worker to arrive which took over 2 hours.
Afterwards the social worker followed me home and I was told that unless someone could stay with me to supervise me with the children (my partner works away) then they would remove Ryan from my care.

What happened once the Social Services were involved?
I couldn't provide a protective factor so I packed Ryan's bag.
In the meantime Ryan, who was ill and had been without water, food or calpol went floppy and unresponsive so I told the social worker I was taking him to hospital.

What happened at the hospital?
At the hospital we were joined by a second social worker and when we saw the doctor he told them he had no concerns about Ryan and I was allowed to go back home.

Have you received an apology from the Social Services?
No I have not received an apology from social services, despite 3 letters asking for one.
I have formally complained and am currently at the final stage of the process which is a request for independent review. The council has not yet made a decision on this request.

For those reading this who are in the same type of situation, what advice would you give?
For those accused by others I would say that you're not alone and not to feel isolated and worry about being stigmatised through it all as now that I have spoken out I have been surprised by the amount of people who have now contacted me and shared their story.
I felt isolated and alone and felt that I would be judged, but most contact has been very positive.

What additional information can you share with me?
Referrals to social services have increased significantly however 92% of parents are innocent.

I have worked with The Guardian and they used my story as a case study.

Meningitits

On the evening of Sunday 11th September 2005 I went to bed feeling fine.
With in a few hours, I was vomiting and in pain, I felt tired but I couldn't sleep, my neck and back hurt and my headache was unlike any headache I'd ever suffered before.
On the morning of Monday 12th September (the next day) my symptoms were a lot worse.
I was so ill I couldn't look at the light as it hurt my eyes, even the day-light outside was a strain on them.
I couldn't even get my 5 year old daughter ready for school and take her that, instead I had to ask my mother who was visiting at the time.
I was scared, I didn't know what was wrong.
At the time I lived less than a minutes walk from my doctor.
I somehow managed to get to him, he examined me and told me to go straight to hospital as he thought I had meningitis.
I went home and my parents drove me to hospital, stopping at least 5 times during the 20 minute drive there as I was violently vomiting.
I arrived at A&E, rather than taking a seat and waiting, they took me straight through to the doctors.
I was examined and admitted with meningitis.
I was taken to an isolation room.
My parents were allowed in after about 3 hours but only while wearing white gowns and face masks.
I was given a lumbar puncture, a procedure where I had to lie on my side with my legs lifted up to my chin and a needle is inserted into the lower part of the spine.
Fluid is withdrawn for testing.
The procedure took approximately 30-45 minutes to complete..
Next I was attached to an IV drip where antibodies were used to kill the bacteria.
Apparently I don't have very good visible veins so trying to insert the IV drip took sometime.
I was poked and prodded and all while I was vomiting in between.
The nurse tried to insert the IV drip on my hand and failed so tried the other and yet again failed.
Then she tried via my arm and failed, she then tried the other arm but again failed.
Then a doctor tried my hands and arms and he too failed.
Eventually he was able to attach the IV drip through my foot.
I was bruised due to the failed attempts.
I was in hospital, in the isolation room for a total of 5 days and during that time I was parted from my 5 year old daughter.
Only my parents were allowed to visit.
I was heartbroken, not being able to hold, hug and kiss my little girl.
Eventually I recovered and I was allowed home.

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Meningitis is the inflammation of the lining to the brain and spinal cord which are protected by membranes.
Membranes are structures that act as a lining of protection, or partition in an organism.

There are two types of meningitis; bacterial and viral.
Bacterial is the most serious of the two.

Symptoms of bacterial meningitis can develop hours or over a few days.
Early symptoms can mimic flu like symptoms.

Signs to look for in birth to 2 years;
High fever, constant crying, sluggishness, lack of appetite, excessive sleepiness, a bulge in the soft spot on the top of the baby's head also known as the fontanel, stiffness in the body and neck.

Signs to look for in 2 years to adulthood;
Stiff neck, sensitivity to light, no appetite, no thirst, headache, nausea/vomiting, high fever, seizures, concentration difficulty, sleepiness/hard to wake, (sometimes but not always) a rash.

Viral meningitis also known as non bacterial meningitis is less serious but still a worry.
The cause can be a number of different viruses.
Adults can get it but mostly its just children..

The signs to look for in both children and adults are;
Headache, fever, stiff neck, sore throat, fatigue, rash (but not always).

Symptoms can appear with in one week of exposure.

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