Baby Isaiah was released from Marshal Hospital in WV with no instruction for his care. The parent was not even told that he has brittle bone disease. Isaiah is a newborn baby that was born prematurely and with all of his bones broken in West Virginia a few months ago at Marshal Hospital, but the Isaiah’s grandmother says that hospital staff never told Baby Isaiah’s parents that his brittle bones were broken at birth or that he was born with Brittle Bone Disease.

Brittle bone disease is also called osteogenesis imperfecta. It is a genetic disorder that causes bones to break very easily, usually without any type of injury. There is no cure for brittle bone disease, and it can affect anyone. Brittle Bone does not discriminate. It affects all races and sexes equally. (WebMd)

Collagen is a protein in your body that forms and strengthens bones. Usually, a defect in a gene that makes collagen causes Brittle Bone Disease to be passed down through generations or inherited from family members and makes the bones very weak. Sometimes a child does not inherit the gene from either parent, but the gene mutation develops on its own.

The main symptom of brittle bone disease is broken bones. Symptoms can range from mild to severe and exhibit themselves after birth or in teenage years. For babies like Isaiah, bones break so easily that just changing a baby’s diaper or picking a crying baby up to comfort them can break the child’s bones. They break very easily. A baby’s bones can break just from being burped.

Frequent nosebleeds, bruising, blue color in the white part of the eyes, bowing legs, troubled breathing, discolored teeth, scoliosis or curved spine, feeling very tired, skin that is easily hurt, hearing loss, sensitivity to warm temperatures, loose joints, short height, and weak muscles and tissues are some symptoms.

Babies usually die in the womb but sometimes they survive birth. There is no cure for brittle bone disease, but treatment can relieve symptoms, prevent breakage of bones, and maximize movement. However, there are many other cases of people with this brittle bone disease living healthy, productive lives with monitoring on a regular basis and the right treatment.

Isaiah was born in May 2021 at Marshal Hospital in West Virginia and the grandmother says that the hospital staff sent the baby home without ever telling the family the baby’s bones were broken at birth and with no instructions for Isaiah’s care and treatment. Baby Isaiah’s parents later returned to the hospital with a crying very discomforted and hurt baby and were accused of child abuse. But the family says there was no abuse from the parents.

A family advocate went through the case and spoke with family members, doctors, and caseworkers. She combed through over 2,100 medical records on this baby that was just born in May, just five months ago. She uncovered that the baby was born with multiple birth defects. 

The ICU at Marshal Hospital never allowed the family to touch or hold Isaiah, but he was discharged with no word of the brittle bone disease or how dangerous it would be for the parents to even take the baby home. Isaiah’s follow-up appointment was on July 3^rd and on July 5th. On July 20^th, Isaiah received five vaccinations, and on July 22^nd Isaiah seemed lifeless. The mother’s boyfriend tried to revive Isaiah as she drove them to the hospital and that is when they found out that Isaiah has brittle bone disease. His ribs were broken, he had a broken femur, Tibia, leg, and a head trauma.  

The hospital called child protective services to the hospital and filed reports claiming that the parents abused Isaiah. Since Isaiah was removed from his family, they have found out that Isaiah was born with metabolic bone disease, born with broken ribs, a lower leg fracture-and a broken femur, and Hunters syndrome. These are genetic hereditary diseases.

Since being placed in foster care, Isaiah has been admitted back to the hospital and placed on life support. He was admitted with another broken leg and a broken eye socket, sepsis, RSV, and complete organ failure. The grandmother was because of nothing less than a miracle able to obtain medical records that confirm the broken bones and other injuries happened during Isaiah’s birth.

Minding Hearts is building advocacy and peer support groups in each state.  The groups are created to raise awareness, educate, and advocate for those that might not otherwise be heard. We are here for encouragement, education, and support. We cannot give legal advice, but we can try and direct you in the right direction with your case. Links to legal services are listed with their states. Please share and let’s grow our groups. We are here to support families and develop resources that maintain family integrity. We look forward to your support. If you would rather become active by donating, then visit the donation page.