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I had an experience similar to Brenda's many years ago. Social Service scrutiny fell upon me and my husband when my son, less than a year old, climbed out of his playpen and fell to the floor, breaking his arm.
I will never forget the experience of being interrogated by ER doctors and by the hospital social worker. First, a doctor accused me and my husband of smelling like marijuana smoke (?). This line of questioning abruptly ended when we demanded to be given the opportunity to take a urinalysis. After my son's arm was X-rayed, the doctor flatly told us that it looked like a "spiral fracture" and that "basically, the only way this happens to a baby is if someone twists his arm".
I will never forget the doctor's words, the hateful tone in which he delivered them, or the stupid way he looked.
We were protected by the fact that there were several witnesses present in our home at the time of the incident... we were also protected, I believe, by our youth and our ignorance of the system. We were not intimidated. We were dismissive of the charges and vehement in defending ourselves; we never realized until years later how close we came to losing our son.
Because of this personal experience, and because of many things I've learned since then, I do believe that many children are removed unjustly from their biological parents and placed in the foster system without cause. Knowing what I know now, I would be much more frightened if the situation occurred again. I remain convinced to this day that if I had not had friends over at the time my son fell, if I had shown fear instead of disdain when questioned, if my skin had been a different color, if any one of dozens of variables had been different, I would've lost my son; probably permanently.
JMO, ~ Sharon
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