How do you cope with child abuse?

[LNDRN19]

My friends,

I sobbed today after reading in the paper about a mother in Texas who had CUT OFF her 10 month-old daughter's ARMS because she thought God wanted her to. HOW CAN PEOPLE DO THIS??????? That baby screamed, bled to death and suffered until the Lord took her home. I can't BELIEVE the things people do to innocent children. How do you cope with knowing a patient of yours is in a dangerously abusive situation? I am emotionally traumatized just from reading this newspaper article.

[royr]

I personally have used any resource at my disposal to protect the children, or animals, or any other helpless being. Once that poor inocent is safe, I will use the law to make sure that the soul - less abusers are punished to the fullest extent allowed for. This includes making sure all are aware of the actions of these evil doers. Megan's law has spauned many excellent websites to protect your neighbors. Use them!

[tcdtx]

I live in Texas, and this whole thing makes me sick! Are people this sick everywhere else, and we just don't hear about it? We had the mom that stoned her children to death, the mom who drowned her 3 children in the bathtub, and now the mom who cut off her gorgeous baby girl's arms! Please tell me all the crazy people don't just live in Texas!

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

No - we have the mom and boyfriend who drowned the three kids (left in their corificeats screaming) while mom and boyfriend pushed the car into the local lake!

Unfortunately there are really sick people everywhere!

[leslie :-D]

one time i cared for a 10 yo little girl w/leukemia, who was abused horribly by both parents. the parents were charged w/abuse and had to appear in front of a judge. the judge opted to keep this child at home, to live out her remaining days in her house rather than be placed in foster care. i was going over there daily while i discovered one of the parents stealing this child's meds and beating her daily.

inevitably i ended up reporting the parents for child abuse and theft, and the little girl ended up living at her aunt's house. once she arrived and settled at her aunt's house, her pain was much better controlled and the girl reported that her aunt didn't steal any medicine. i almost lost my job for i was this close to beating both parents to a pulp. to hell with professionalism and composure. this poor helpless child needed protection. she ended up dying peacefully, thank you God.

i just don't understand these adults who work so closely with abused children. i could never do it and remain uninvolved. after this case it was a looooooooooooong time before i took a peds case again.

leslie

[Dalzac, LPN, LVN, RN]

When my youngest was born 30 years ago. he had a diaphramic hernia. They did surgery on himwhen he was just a few hours old. I would stay at the hospital all day to be with him. Next to his crib was a 9 mo old little girl that had a humongous hematoma on her head. The circumstances oh how the hematoma was to say the least very suspicious. The baby's mother would show up once in a while, but generally ignored the child. She was always freaking out about the smallest of things.

I wasn't a nurse at the time but the nurses treated me so sweet and thoughtful day. One day at lunch a couple of them were going to eat lunch and asked me if they could bring me a sandwich or something. I thanked them but told them no. The other mother jusmped in and said she wanted one. Both of them immediately turned on a dime and gave her the nastiest look and told her to get it herself. they were just as hateful as they could be. It caught me completely off guard. However when I became a nurse I really saw how some peds nurses could be toward someone like that woman. I just couldn't be a ped nurse not ever. but I am so grateful there are those that can.

[clee1]

In my state, medical professionals are required to report even a suspicion of abuse.:sofahider

Also in my state, the law allows a citizen to use any necessary force to protect another from assault, battery, sexual assault, or abuse. :redlight:

I have news for the child abusers/molestors out there: The "law" is the LEAST of your worries if I catch you at it!

[tencat]

I have news for the child abusers/molestors out there: The "law" is the LEAST of your worries if I catch you at it!

:yeahthat: AMEN! Which is the reason why I can never work peds.

[tcdtx]

In my state, medical professionals are required to report even a suspicion of abuse.:sofahider

Also in my state, the law allows a citizen to use any necessary force to protect another from assault, battery, sexual assault, or abuse. :redlight:

I have news for the child abusers/molestors out there: The "law" is the LEAST of your worries if I catch you at it!

I think you said what we are all thinking! :)

[clee1]

:yeahthat: AMEN! Which is the reason why I can never work peds.

Uh huh....

I was an EMT a long time ago. I was written up a total of three times; in every case for being a little ...... excessive in my "restraint" of an abusive parent. (Said restraint requiring an ER visit of their own.) :chair:

I hate to imagine what I'd have done to a molester.

I want to work in the ED/trauma center. I'm sure I'll see more of this type of stuff that I care to.

[clee1]

I think you said what we are all thinking! :)

You know, normally I am a cheerful, tolerant kind of guy.....

Some things make my blood boil :angryfire and I will NOT tolerate abuse of a child!

[PedsER-RN, BSN, RN]

i'm probably not the best person to be responding to this b/c even though i work in a pedi er and see more abuse/neglect than i'd like to admit, it's not something i'm used to seeing and certainly not something i deal with too well. alot of our abuse cases are transfers from outlying hospitals, so it's rare that we see the parents of those kids (good thing). if we do suspect abuse, cps and the police are called, and the cops stay in the room with the child the entire time, or the parents are escorted out by security. but like i said, i don't deal with it too well. there's been more than one occasion where i've had to leave the room because i was on the verge of losing it. other than venting to my mom, coworkers, and a friend who's a nurse, there's really not a whole lot i do to cope with it. sometimes working out or listening to music helps, but the same feelings come back......

[Kim O'Therapy, BSN, RN]

it's probably the same story, becaue the article pertained to the mother being on trial. they tried the old insanity thing, which resulted in a mistrial. the mother planned to cut off her own arms and head, according to the article. this feat, of course, is impossible. not the sharpest pencil in the box. when the police found her, they said she had a deep gash on her (left?) arm.

i think all of us parents out there have stressful moments with our children, but how someone could rationalize what she did is far beyond my comprehension. and to blame it on god. please.

yup, and andrea yates (the woman who drowned her five children) has been granted a new trial also. i guess it all boils down to this debate: should the mentally ill be held accountable for their crimes?