Teenager Seized on False Medical Diagnoses

December 9, 2014 permalink

Marc (Marcky) Herrman, who was born prematurely and nearly died in his incubator, has never been in excellent health. In 2009 Marcky's family fled to Canada to escape German persecution of home schoolers. Three years later they took ailing Marcky to Alberta Children's Hospital. His medical history since then has been one of repeated erroneous diagnoses:

• Miller Fisher Syndrome
• Wernicke’s encephalopathy
• EDNOS – Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified
• ARFID, Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder
• Mental illness (belief in God)
• Retard (Marc speaks two languages)

Three steps into this list child protectors took over and revoked parental custody. While he was being treated for the eating disorder Marcky was forced to eat large quantities of cheese and milk. It took doctors a year to acknowledge that he was lactose intolerant. The last diagnosis, retard, will be the pretext for holding him as an incompetent adult next year when he reaches age 18.

expand

collapse

Medically Kidnapped Teenager In Canada Pleads To Be Returned To His Family

Written by Marc Herrmann

December 9, 2014, by Terri LaPoint, Health Impact News

Marc Herrmann is a teenage boy who desperately wants to go home to his family who loves him, but apparently he cannot. The 17-year-old feels he is trapped in what he sees as a cruel system that won’t let him go, and now he is crying out for help. He says he is just “A child in Canada,” who has no voice, who feels like no one is listening.

Teen Speaks Out: Sees Himself as a “Medical Lab Rat”

Marcky, as he is known by those who love him, is not just experiencing normal teenage angst. This is apparently so much more than that. He has allegedly experienced horrendous trauma, not at the hands of his parents, but at the hands of a broken system via Alberta Health Services and Child and Family Services. After a couple of alleged wrong diagnoses, and complications from treatments, he is now in the custody of the Child Protective system in Calgary, Canada, with no end in sight for him.

He says he is tired of being a medical lab rat for research projects to which neither he nor his parents ever agreed. He has been sending messages written in the third person that have been posted on a Facebook page created by friends of his, called “A child in Canada.” Despite the possible risks to himself in coming forward with his story, he says he is ready for his story to be told. He wants somebody to listen and just let him go home to his family.

Being Persecuted in Germany for Homeschooling

Marc and his identical twin were born prematurely in Germany, and faced a number of health issues. Marcky was the sicker of the two babies. It was his mother’s tireless advocacy that ultimately made the difference in his survival. The standard practice in that German hospital, as in many facilities, was to separate the twins in two different incubators. Patricia Herrmann, who grew up in Burma before marrying her German husband, Gottfried, strongly believed that the babies needed to be together. It was only after the doctors had given up hope for Marc, and with prayerful intervention from an elderly priest, that the doctors agreed to put the twins together. It worked like a miracle, and Marcky got better. The boys came home.

Their health was still delicate, however. Marc’s lungs functioned at only a 10 to 20% capacity, and he has a number of health issues, including being lactose intolerant. The Herrmanns are a close-knit, devoutly Christian family. Largely because of Marc’s health, they made the decision to homeschool the twins. They had a lung specialist’s recommendation to do so after he prescribed oxygen machines for Marcky.

According to Dr. Wilfred Saldanha, Patricia’s brother, “Pat and Gottfried have one main passion in life: to do the very best for their children … [they] have done absolutely everything in their power to make life better for them.”

However, families do not have the freedom to choose homeschooling in Germany, even for health or religious reasons, and they often face persecution and even seizure of their children by the government. Because of that fear, the Herrmanns left Germany and arrived in Canada in 2007 as refugees.

They were safe, they thought.

They were apparently wrong.

Living in Canada as a Refugee with Health Problems

In 2012, Marc’s health, which had never been good, suddenly took a turn for the worse. On November 20, 2012, his uninsured parents took him to Alberta Children’s Hospital because his eyes were crossing. He grew weaker while they waited in the emergency room. After a series of tests, he was diagnosed with Miller Fisher Syndrome, which is a variant of Guillain-Barré Syndrome. According to Right Diagnosis, the standard treatment is IVIG (intravenous immunoglobulin), which was started immediately.

Miller Fisher was allegedly a misdiagnosis, however, and the side effects of the IVIG treatment were reported to be significant. Marc began to experience high blood pressure, fever, nausea, rashes, and sensitivity to light.

He was then allegedly diagnosed with Wernicke’s encephalopathy. He got to the point where he couldn’t even walk, and was discharged a few days later in a wheelchair. He began fainting and losing weight, but the Herrmann’s report that the doctor wasn’t concerned, saying that it was a part of the Wernicke’s.

Despite several months of follow-up by the same physician, Marc was still losing weight, no matter how much he ate. They returned to the hospital in September of 2013, very concerned about the weight loss and a low heart rate. They learned that the Wernicke’s was again allegedly a misdiagnosis. They just wanted to figure out what was actually wrong and asked to transfer to a different hospital for a second opinion.

Social Service Agency Seizes Custody for Seeking a Second Medical Opinion

That is when Child and Family Services (CSFA) allegedly took over and seized custody, citing that Marc’s parents were neglectful and caused his weight loss. The doctor who had misdiagnosed him twice was allowed to stay on his case, and reportedly changed the diagnosis to EDNOS – Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified.

Marc was reportedly sent for treatment at the Eating Disorder Program in Unit 26 of the Foothills Medical Centre, which is part of the Alberta Health Services. He was eventually placed in foster care.

Marc Becomes Subject of Medical Research

According to messages that were sent to family and friends by Marc, once the state took over his care, he was subjected to a number of questionable practices. He was allegedly entered into research studies without his or his parents’ consent. Marc, a vegan by choice, was put on a high-calorie diet and told that he was not lactose intolerant. He was compelled to eat large amounts of cheese and drink lots of milk. When he had severe stomach pain and bloating from the dairy products and huge volume of food, he says that “no one cared.” It was after almost a year that the doctors allegedly acknowledged that Marc was, indeed, lactose intolerant, just as he and his parents had said.

To date, no one has reportedly discovered why Marc continues to have weight loss problems. The Eating Disorder Team has retracted their diagnosis of the eating disorder, changing it to yet another illness called ARFID, Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, allegedly never even running tests to see if there is a physiological basis for his symptoms.

Persecuted for Christian Beliefs?

While he was in treatment, Marc reportedly put up Bible verses on the walls in his room in Unit 26. Those were allegedly removed by the staff. Marc was allegedly told that he didn’t have approval for them and that they “contradict the treatment plan.”

He was allegedly told that his Christian mother was a bad influence because she was always talking about God. Patricia Herrmann reports that Marcky has long supported ministries like In Touch Ministries with Charles Stanley, and others, with his own money. For that, Marc has been ridiculed and even allegedly been called mentally ill because he believes in God. His parents have allegedly been called crazy by the CFSA because they believe in miracles, including the one that saved Marcky’s life as an infant.

Isolated from Family and Friends

Marc has been denied access to a phone or to the internet, where he wanted to research the various diagnoses and treatments to which he was being subjected. He has also sought to research the various medications that he has been given. A teenage boy has been taken away from his friends and family, and kept away from his twin brother and older sister. He hasn’t seen his parents alone for a year. When he does see them, he is forbidden to hug them.

He also has not been permitted to attend school for the past year.

Labeled as “Retard” – State to Retain Custody After Age 18

Marc is fluent in two languages, and his writings, albeit with spelling and grammatical errors, reveal a deeply philosophical, intelligent young man. Despite this, at some point during his captivity, he underwent an assessment that allegedly has labelled him as “Retard.” Because of this diagnosis, he may not be free to leave state custody when he turns 18 in a few months, because he would become a ward of the Office of the Public Guardian indefinitely. The state has allegedly already made application to be his Public Guardian and had a representative present at Marc’s latest hearing.

Physician Uncle is Concerned

His uncle is a physician in the United States, and has followed Marc’s health reports since his birth. But he has been denied access to any of the medical and psychological records since CFSA took custody, even though he has the full consent of Marc’s parents. When he traveled to Canada for a visit last summer, Dr. Saldanha was only allowed a supervised visit with his nephew, and was forbidden to speak with him about his medical status, CFSA, or the foster home. When Health Impact News spoke with Dr. Saldanha, he expressed great concern about the well-being of his nephew. He says that, “up to this day, I do not know what exactly is going on with [Marc] and what the real concerns and reasons from the Canadian authorities are” which are keeping Marc in state custody and away from his family. He believes that Marc belongs with the parents who love him.

Canadian Foster Care System Criticized for Deaths

Canada’s foster care system has come under sharp criticism in recent years. The Edmonton Journal published a series of articles exposing the fact that 741 children in the Alberta, Canada, child welfare system died between 1999 and 2013. As recently as July 2014, it was illegal for parents to name or post pictures of their own children who died within the system. Canadians apparently do not speak freely about alleged abuses within the CFSA system. There are rumors that speaking out may be very dangerous.

Cost of Legal Fees Prohibitive

That is why it is remarkable that Marc Herrmann is speaking out now and sharing his story publicly, in the strong hope that people will stand up for him, and others like him.

During the most recent hearing on November 12, CFSA was allegedly awarded permanent guardianship. The cost for his parents to appeal the decision is prohibitively high in Canada, and even then, justice is allegedly elusive in this particular family court. Families are required to pay 50 cents per word for the transcript of the hearing before an appeal can be filed. There are more than 2,000 pages in the transcript. The deadline for appeal is December 12.

Marc’s Public Statement for Help

A Child in Canada Facebook Page

Marc cannot do anything to get himself free, and he is pleading for help. This is his letter to all of us:

To Whom It May Concern:

This is Marcky Herrmann (Marc Herrmann)

It has been a really long time and there has been little to no justice for my Family!

All the good positives was ignored and My family and I were not listend to.

I have no life anymore , no phone , no friends because of all the ‘restrictions’ to the so called “safety” of CFS. They dont let me talk to anyone bassicly..

I feel like im in prison I WANT TO GO HOME I WANT TO GO BACK TO MY FAMILY.

I want to go home I want to be with my family

I do not want to be in care , in Foster care or in Child and Family Services care.

They have done nothing but try to rip me and my family apart.

My mom and dad are good parents and know me better than anyone else.

I want to go home and i want to be with my family.

I do not deserve to be or want to be in Foster Care.

Foster care is not my home.. Home is my home with my Family i grew up with that i love and care about.. I am very sad about not being at home this is my life this is my body anhd i want to treat my body the way i want to treat it.. I want to be healthy and my parents know how to make me healthy.

But were never given a chance because of the lies and minuplations by Child and Family Services..

Please i need this court appealed , the judge did not make the right desicion and i need to be with my parents. i want to be with my parents.

I have never had any unsupervised contact even with mom and dad even though all is fine. All the accusations and assumeations by CFS are lies! and If mom and dad wouldve beeen allowed to be part in taking part in Doctor appointsments and stuff .. My life is not nromal anymore I am sad and I want to be with my family.

and EVEYRTHING with me and my family is positive.. I feel like we do not have any privacy! I am not even allowed to have my phone or anything .. I HAVE NO LIFE NO FREEDOM IM NOT IN THE PLACE WHERE I WANT TO BE I WANT TO GO AND LIVE HOME Please do something about this! MY SOCIAL WORKER DID NOT DO ANYTHING TO HELP ME AND MY FAMILY.

Marc Herrmann.

Here are some people that may be contacted about Marc’s story. International phone rates apply from the US.

Family Court Judge Larochelle 403-297-3937

Human Services Minister Heather Klimchuck 780-455-7979. Her email is edmonton.glenora@assembly.ab.ca and she has a Facebook page and Twitter account @HeatherKlimchuck.

Human Services Associate Minister Naresh Bhardwaj has a Twitter account @MLA_Bhardwaj.

Office of the Public Guardian 888-357-9339 or 877-427-4525

Published on December 8, 2014

Source: MedicalKidnap.com

Randolph Scott, a lawyer with the Department of Justice, Calgary Alberta, tried to gag Medically Kidnapped:

expand

collapse

From: Randolph Scott, Barrister & Solicitor, Department of Justice, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

This posting lists the names, numbers and twitter accounts of numerous professionals. Most worrisome is the posting and contact information of the hearing judge — Judge LaRochelle as well as the name and contact information of the Alberta Minister of Health.

We are insisting this information be removed — it is posted without the consent and authorization of those named. The wording in the story: “…may be contacted…” implies that those named are inviting contact. They are not.

It is the writer’s view that posting this information is inviting unwanted contact that could lead to harrassment and possible harm to those named.

Thusly, we are insisting this information be removed immediately. We look forward to your earliest confirmation that this will be dealt with in an expedited manner.

Randolph Scott

Source: MedicalKidnap.com

Addendum: Escape from Canada!

expand

collapse

By Terri LaPoint, Health Impact News, Published on March 18, 2015

Medically Kidnapped Teen and Family Escape Canada: Speak Out on Abuses

It was a day that they were terrified would never come. The Herrmann family has escaped from Canada and has been reunited in Germany! Teenager Marc Herrmann was slated to stay within the system for the rest of his life after he was taken from his family in late 2013 over allegations of medical neglect. He was misdiagnosed several times, institutionalized, then placed in foster care, despite the urgent pleas of Marc and his family.

After he was falsely labeled as “retarded,” a hearing was scheduled on his 18th birthday to turn him over to the custody of the Canadian Office of Public Guardians. A man whom the family had never met was reportedly waiting in the wings to assume guardianship. Because his parents are German citizens, they were told that there was no way that they could be guardians over their own son. Marc says that he was told repeatedly that if he did not comply with numerous threats, he would never see his family again.

Today, after public outcry and intervention from the German Embassy, the Herrmann family is together again, and safely out of reach of the system that the Herrmanns insist is rife with corruption. They are in Germany. With the help of the German Embassy, they have escaped.

German Family Moves to Canada to Homeschool

The family immigrated to Canada in 2007 in order to homeschool the twins, Marc (affectionately known as Marcky) and Nathan. They were born very prematurely, and Marcky’s health issues led their parents, Gottfried and Patricia, to seek to educate them at home, away from the risk of germs and infection in the public school system. Because of difficulties with homeschooling in Germany, the family journeyed to Canada, in order to do what they felt was best for their children. The boy’s older sister remained in their homeland to raise her own family.

Medically Misdiagnosed

The twins loved their new home, embracing the creativity and freedom to pursue their interests, until Marc began experiencing health problems in late 2012. There was an incorrect diagnosis along with a treatment protocol that was not appropriate for what was wrong. There were serious complications from the IVIG treatment, and he began losing weight. The doctor assured them that this was normal. It wasn’t.

When his parents sought further medical care, Canada’s Child and Family Services (CFSA) stepped in and seized custody of Marc. He then spent time in an Eating Disorder Clinic and subsequently in foster care, where he says that he suffered greatly.

Marc Decides to Speak Out

Marcky felt hopeless in state care. He and his family tried everything they could to get back together. After it looked to them that there was little hope of returning home to the family he loves deeply, he began writing and reaching out. The boy labeled as a “retard” in the attempt to imprison him indefinitely in the system writes eloquently of the love of his family, and of the cruelty of the injustices that he faced. Many of his writings have been posted on a Facebook page set up by supporters of the Herrmann family, called A child in Canada. He spoke out about the treatment he was receiving, crying out for someone, anyone, to hear the cries of children trapped in the system.

His family reached out to Health Impact News, and Marc made the courageous decision to take his story to the public. His mother reports that one person within the system confided that Marcky’s brave actions in breaking the silence are opening doors for other children trapped within the system. Marc has been hailed by one supporter as a “little Hero who has opened many doors where Canada has hidden their corruption.”

After Health Impact News published Marcky’s story, which included the contact information for the Family Court Judge and some of the Human Services officials, the Barrister & Solicitor from the Department of Justice in Calgary, Alberta, contacted Health Impact News demanding thet we take down their contact names. However, their contact info was a matter of public record, accessible to anyone on the Internet. (See: Canadian Solicitor General Wants to Restrict Freedom of the Press in the U.S. Regarding Medical Kidnapping.)

Source: MedicalKidnap.com