Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy -- meditate on these things.
It went well. The district attorney subpeonaed most midwives in Pittsburgh. Their testimonies were mostly good, acknowledging the fact that things that happened, could happen without the midwife being called incompetent, and it is not definite that there was anything else that should have been done, and that there exist non-nurse midwives who know what they are doing, and in fact even could be called experts.
The inquest is done, and within a month, the judge will make her recommendation about whether it should go to trial or not.
Contrary to what Channel 53 says, they are not thinking of charging us with anything. They are investigating whether Judy should be charged.
Prayer requests:
That God's will be done, but we hope that will is to not go to trial.
That we would not be angry at the "system".
We went down to the court house for the second part of the inquest today. However, the coroner's office forgot to subpeona the witnesses. Details....
Channel 4 knew that they wouldn't have a story unless they could get some new angle, so the lady tried to come to our house so that people could see where the baby was born, etc. and get the personal side of the story. But, we turned her down. Heather said it is enough to have our hearts open to everyone, without having our living room open too.
So, they rescheduled for next Tuesday. I mentioned to the district attorney that I felt the witnesses have been pretty biased. (he showed me the list of who is going to be subpeonaed for next week as well) He was very nice about it, and said that if I have anyone who I think should be subpeonaed, he would be willing to recommend to somebody, that they be subpeonaed as well. There are two obstetricians that we know of, but they both appear to be on vacation, so hopefully we can find them in time.
Prayer requests:
That joy and hope would return to us
That this would not go to trial
That we could find an obstetrician or two to testify
We got a call from the coroner today. The second part of the inquest has been scheduled for March 5th.
I found yahoo news group that was formed to support midwives who are undergoing legal battles. They have been extremely supportive, and great to talk to, especially last week, when Heather was in New England, and I was feeling alone.
Prayer requests:
That Judy would be able to come to the memorial service.
That we wouldn't be angry with the obstetrican who testified at the inquest, that we can understand his biases and know that if this does go to trial, other experts and studies will be cited, and the truth will be made known.
Somewhat unrelated side-note (related just because it is about babies!) John and Alissa Kuhns had their baby on Saturday morning, and I got to hold Nathanael(!) and spend the day with them, helping out as I could. He has been the first baby that I could even think about holding, and mostly it was great, with occasional tears or thoughts about similarities to Isaac, etc.
Prayer requests:
That Heather would return safely from New England (in the snow, or waiting until after the storm), where she has been helping out her parents pack up to move back to Florida.
That I would be able to reply to all (or at least some) of the people who have written us email and cards.
Inquest today. It wasn't anywhere near as bad as we thought it would be. We got to listen to everyone else testify, which basically was good, interesting to hear the story from various perspectives. A bit hard to hear the autopsy report, but the doctor was... well, as my mom says, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.
The media wasn't as bad as we expected either, most people didn't even talk to us at all, just quoted us out of context to make a better story. The Post-Gazette reporter, Jim McKinnon, wrote the best article of them all, but as the Rev. Doug McGlynn would say, "that's like being the best quarterback in the nursing home." We were on a bunch of tv stations too, I think 3 different stations, with one of them devoting 10 minutes or so to the story. I wouldn't have thought anyone would care so much. As my brother said, "that's kind of cool to be on tv! ... oh, maybe not"
The inquest didn't finish, they have some more witnesses to talk to (and some paramedics and police officers to re-subpeona, since they didn't show up the first time). The date hasn't been scheduled yet, probably the end of February.
We are mostly just physically tired from sitting in one place for the whole day. Heather went off to the monthly women's meeting, and I think was encouraged by being there.
Prayer requests:
That Judy wouldn't see/hear about all the nasty stuff the doctor said about her.
That the next part of the inquest would go wonderfully, so that the judge would be convinced to not send this to trial.
That Heather and I wouldn't get stressed about things, and let them make other little things seem like big things.
The memorial service has been scheduled for March 16th, 2:00PM, at the Church of Ascension in Pittsburgh (Oakland, 4729 Ellsworth Avenue)
We are planning on a fairly informal service/celebration of Isaac's life, and would love to have you come. If you want to help out with that, we will have some setup time, chairs, etc. and also food for afterwards, so anything you want to help us with will be much appreciated.
Everyone is welcome at the memorial service. Some people have asked whether they can bring their kids/babies. YES!
If you are interested in giving money to somewhere, Heather and I sponsor two children in Uganda through Compassion International, and write letters periodically, and it is a great organization.
Gifts can be made in memory of Isaac Daley.
You can contact them here:
Compassional International
Colorado Springs, CO 80997
(800)336-7676
https://www.compassion.com/giving/
We are hoping to have a memorial service March 2nd, in Pittsburgh.
We would love to have you come.
We have yet to find a location, email me if you are interested in further details.
Prayer requests:
Continued from last time: that the coroner would not find any/enough reason to recommend that the District Attorney continue this to trial.
That the inquest would only take one day, so that this doesn't get prolonged into March (or longer).
Copyright ©2003 Linda Wightman
When they put the sugar back into baby food, I should have known it was a bad sign.
Progress is often a tidal creek, not a river. Advancement is not inevitable. We gain in one era, or in one area, and lose in another.
The late 1970's and early 80's were good years for having babies in America. Women had rediscovered that childbirth is a good thing, a normal function, and were dragging their doctors along with them. Hospitals scrambled to keep up.
We were the rebels, the revolutionaries. The children of the 60's grown up. Our parents had been cheated by medical and cultural "advancement", giving birth under anesthesia, flat on their backs on a delivery table, their legs unnaturally elevated. Labor was often artificially induced, and the cesarean section rate was high. Once born, the babies were whisked away to nurseries, tended by professional nurses and fed commercial formula. As soon as possible their diets included solid food-commercial baby food, loaded with sugar and salt to suit the mother's taste.
(More)
A number of you have asked why is this happening, ie. how did the district attorney, coroner, homicide detective and police officers get involved in the first place. Good question. One might wonder...
Whenever 911 is called involving a baby, they send police officers along with medical support, to investigate a possible child abuse situation. So, Heather and our midwife were separated and questioned by a homicide detective. (Heather was naked, cold and hungry, but the police refused her requests, except to allow her to get a towel to cover herself)
After Isaac died, the coroner performed an autopsy, as is required by law, whenever the cause of death is not evident. An inquest was then done, to determine whether or not a crime had been committed, and whether there was someone to blame for it or not.
The coroner said that our midwife had been "grossly negligent" in her care of Heather and Isaac, and therefore should be charged criminally. Fortunately, much of the evidence that was presented at the hearing was extremely biased at best, and outright lies at worst. During an inquest, there is not an opportunity for the "defense" to cross-examine, as an inquest isn't supposed to have a prosecution and defense, but everybody there knew which person was on which side. Due to the incompetence of the district attorney and the coroner's office, many witnesses were not able to attend the hearing as they had not been told about the hearing the first time, and then the second time, they were subpeonead 12 hours in advance of the hearing.
The coroner passes along his recommendation to the district attorney, (who was the prosecutor in the inquest), and the district attorney decided whether or not he thinks that he can win a criminal trial, as he doesn't want to lose a trial, because that looks bad for him politically, and as the he is hoping to be elected judge someday, he is very conscious of the publicity that he gets.
The district attorney and coroner fully understand that the only witnesses to this event believe that no crime was committed, but we live in a country where our liberties are slowly being eroded away as time goes on, and we will soon have no rights to make our own decisions, if they conflict with the popular beliefs of the times. Hm... seems a little similar to Ayn Rand's, "Atlas Shrugged". Different issues, but similar in terms of the political/social/liberty issues.
An open inquest has been scheduled for February 6th. From various sources, it seems that the point of this inquest is to see about indicting our midwife.
Prayer requests:
That the coroner would not find any/enough reason to recommend that the District Attorney continue this to trial.
We are continually amazed at how God has prepared us for this time. Sometimes we just sit back and laugh, at how God has taught us various scripture over the last couple of months, and while they had some meaning then, were really meant for now. And how He gave them to various people to share with us, thinking they were sharing some new, great revelation they had had while praying for us, and really (while it was a great revelation) it was reminding us of how God has previously taught us something, and how we needed to stick by Him and have faith that He will bring us through.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future" -- Jeremiah 29:11
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." -- Romans 15:13
"Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." -- Matthew 6:34
"They [Your mercies] are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness" -- Lamentations 3:23
I think there are a couple more, but I cannot think of them now.
I think the hardest day was Friday, and even though Isaac died yesterday, and we have various ups and downs throughout this day and days to come, I think we have come to be more at peace about everything.
If you are wondering -- yes, we would like visitors. Call first to check if some particular time is alright, generally we have said people should not come in the early afternoon, so Heather can get rest. 412-683-2201.
Prayer requests:
That the coroner's investigation about whether there was any cases of neglect would be over quickly.
That Heather would recover quickly, and with as little pain as possible.
That Judy, our midwife, would not turn away from God in confusion, but rather let herself be tightly embraced by Him.
In His time, in His time,
He makes all things beautful in His time.
Lord, please show me every day,
As You're teaching me Your way,
That You do just what You say, in Your time.
In Your time, in Your time,
You make all things beautiful in Your time.
Lord, my life to You I bring.
May each song I have to sing
Be to You a lovely thing, in Your time.
Bad Behavior has blocked 982 access attempts in the last 7 days.
Powered by LifeType