Sunday, January 25, 2009

CPS Investigates Bruise



This has been a sad few days for me. My family has gone though, what I feel, was a huge trial. 2 weeks ago, my husband went to pick up our boys at school. He saw that there were 3 cops there. He was worried so he walked up to ask what was wrong. They were they to question my husband. Chaz, my 8 year old, had a bruise on his arm and they wanted to know why and how it got there. My husband was dumbfounded. What???? "I don't know". They asked Chaz and he didn't know. He thought maybe when he was playing swords with his brother. My husband is just so shocked and standing there. He told the cops he would never hit his son and would never put that bruise on him. The cops even said from the looks of where it was at, it couldn't have been caused by an adult. They TOOK ALL 3 of my boys out of class and questioned them along with a CPS worker. They took a picture of the bruise. The cops told Charles that they believed him because of where the bruise was. Charles was like, "This is ridiculous. Boys run around and play, hence they can get bruises. So that night, we were discussing it together after we (thought) had laid the kids down. Chaz came in ten minutes later crying because his little brother Kyle threw a little plastic chair in the dark and it bruised and scratched Chaz just above his eye. We were horrified because it was such bad timing and now, knowing those people, they were gonna blame us. Kyle was really sorry because he didn't mean to hurt Chaz so he was crying. Chaz was crying. I immediately put an ice pack above Chaz's eye. I debated what to do being he had school in the morning. I sent him in the next day since the swelling had gone down. He now just had a surface scratch. Nothing big. What do you think happened next? POLICE ARE NOW PARKING IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE AND WALKING TO MY FRONT DOOR. They bang really loud. I just stare out the window because I can't believe it. I open and and they ask to come inside. They said that Chaz had a scratch (a stinking surface scratch) above his eye and needed to investigate possible parental abuse. Chaz even TOLD them that it was his little brother Kyle. He even told the police at the school that his mommy and daddy NEVER hit him. They have paddled him on the butt (he even said). But never hit him. That we would never do that. The cops in my house ask a questions. Do we swat? With what? Do we ever hit? What do you think caused that bruise on his arm? We told them that we have 3 boys (and 2 girls) who love to climb, run, play, and just be boys. I would have NO idea. I consulted with my pastor (who knows my boy's well) and he gave me some advice in how to handle the situation. Even the nursery leader told me she would testify that I have some hyper boys who would always leave the nursery with at least one bruise every service!

To make long story shorter. CPS made an appointment and stopped by. The lady talked with the kids, observed them and us. Walked around looking at everything. In short, she told me she was very impressed with everything. The kids, our house, the animals... everything. She was impressed we handled it all so well and she said that it was obvious the boys loved being home and were not afraid to be here. That they have good relationship with parents. That everything is in order. She immediately CLOSED THE CASE. She told me that even though the case is closed and they didn't find anything, it will stay on our record for awhile. That if Chaz gets another bruise, the school can call, and they HAVE to come out because we have a previous record of CPS coming. Sheesh. Okay, what should I do? Should I put all my kids in football gear so they won't get hurt? I mean, 3 days before she came, Chaz sprained his knee while playing on the trampoline and is now wearing a splint and crutches. How could I have prevented that? We have a net on the trampoline. All my knives are above the fridge. My cleaners on a high shelf in closet. My medicine in a high shelf above fridge. Safety plugs in all our outlets. I mean, good grief, what more can I do? Chaz could trip tomorrow and get another bruise. If the school calls on me again, I will pull Chaz out and homeschool him. Oh, and as you can see in picture above.... my kids can be quite wild together. In that picture, they are totally just playing, but they are wrestling crazy in the van. LOL.

2 comments:

Happy Elf Mom (Christine) said...

I have been thinking of you all day and don't know what to say. I don't know what advice to give. I wish I did!!!

Maybe you could homeschool again when things calm down... I'm not sure. It might make people more suspicious. Sigh.

I wish I knew *what* to say. :[

Danielle said...

Wow that is so sad. I am sorry. My husband and I just went through the foster care training and it scared me to think that if any suspicion of abuse occurred - even a wild accusation for a lying child, my kids could be taken away while they investigate SCARY! I will be praying that this situation resolves itself! I'm so sorry! We serve a big God and he knows what you're going through!