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A birth defect mistaken as child abuse split their family, now they fight for other families at the Capitol
A public hearing on how the state and medical professionals handle these cases was held Tuesday at the Capitol after the couple recently met with state Rep. James Frank (R-Wichita Falls).
AUSTIN, Texas - In May 2015, Lorina and Jason Troy's infant son had trauma to his brain. The doctor came to a conclusion quickly...the trauma was from child abuse, a misdiagnosis that ended up separating the family.
“We told the doctors our son was never hurt, could this be something else? So the pediatric neurosurgeon said yes but since he's a baby we are going to go with abuse and walked away,” said Lorina Troy.
The couple have three children, two of whom were taken from them.
“It was the worst day of my life. It was traumatizing and devastating,” said Troy.
For two years, they had to fight to clear Jason’s name. He was accused of two child abuse felonies. Eventually, the charges were dropped and they got their kids back when doctors said JJ had actually suffered from a birth defect, causing his head injuries.
“He has a condition called benign external hydrocephalus,” said Lorina.
“This is happening and awareness needs to be out there. The medical community and CPS definitely need to be accountable for what they do because families are the ones hurting,” said Jason Troy, the child’s father.
A public hearing on how the state and medical professionals handle these cases was held Tuesday at the Capitol after the couple recently met with state Rep. James Frank (R-Wichita Falls). Frank had many questions on how closely medical professionals work with CPS, specifically when it comes to who determines or concludes if the word "abuse" comes into play.
“I don't really feel like that's the role of the medical professional to say…’these are the indicators’. CPS should do that. You all shouldn't be concluding,” he said to Dr. James Lukefahr during the hearing.
“It's not binary, there is some room, I would say for subjectivity,” said Lukefahr in response.
The Troys know by sharing their story, other families can get the courage to speak out and encourage lawmakers to closely monitor what goes on between the medical community and the state.
“Laws can’t change until 2021 but policies and procedures can,” said Lorina.