Letters & Circle of Prayers from Nana

Dear F**'s,
I made several copies of this (with the photo attached :-) ) and placed one in every Sunday school room at our church and at every entrance. The pastor also made an announcement during church. Several people came up to me and said their whole class prayed for Mara and will continue to do so. The Senior Saints class are going to meet in prayer at 3:00 Mountain time in corporate prayer on her behalf! Many told me of their intention to write Judge Woods. Also- one of Paul's Prayer Team members took a copy back to her church James Assembly (an awesome mega church in Springfield) J*****, so many people are praying specifically for your comfort and that you will find peace during your wait for the Judges decision.
I mailed my letter already also.....I am forwarding you a copy also.
with love and prayer, Mom
p.s. I sent His Honor a copy of the photo also :-)


Tomorrow Update
The Judge announced yesterday that he will be making his ruling on Thursday, June 11th at 3:30 pm. He has closed any further courtroom testimony- however is open to any letters concerning this decision.

Please continue to pray for the best outcome concerning this precious
little girl. If you feel moved to support them with a letter- I thank
you in advance.
A**** P****** (known to Tomorrow as "Nana")

You may send your letter to : Honorable Judge Woods, Division 2
1437 Bannock Street
Denver, Co.80202


For those of you who need refreshing on this situation:
Tomorrow was given to my daughter **** and her husband Mike for emergency
protective foster care at 5 weeks old. She had been hospitalized with 24
broken bones and put in a full body cast! To date no one has been
arrested or charged for her abuse. She is now 22 months old and healed
physically and emotionally.This hearing is hopefully to terminate the
biological parental rights and allow adoption of Tomorrow by my daughter and
her husband. The hearings have been going on since March. My daughter
and her husband are the only loving parents she has ever known in her
short lifetime. They are hoping to adopt her and we are all very anxiously
awaiting a good outcome.




May 27th, 2009

To: The Honorable Judge Woods, District Court, Division 2, Denver, Co. 80212

Dear Honorable Judge Woods,
I am writing concerning your decision regarding ****** ****** on Thursday June 11th At 3:30 pm.
I am known to this precious little girl as “Nana”. My daughter ******* and her husband Mike have had protective custody since she was placed with them at 5 weeks with 24 broken bones and in a full body cast. The minute my daughter called me about her Tomorrow entered my heart as my granddaughter. My husband and I have 15 grandchildren and another on the way. When I count our grandchildren Tomorrow is included. I have found it doesn’t matter how a child comes into your life you love them all the same and consider them a blessing. Since there has been no arrests or lawsuits and no one has been formally charged with her abuse , I trust you will not allow her to go back to that situation ..only to be abused again ….or worse. I don’t know about you but I have lost a lot of sleep over worrying about the future of our little Tomorrow should she be returned to her biological parent(s). The loving care and acceptance Tomorrow has received from us all has helped formed her into a healthy well-adjusted little girl. And my daughter and her husband should be credited with instinctively knowing just how to take care of her special needs. In this case she would only be further traumatized if she was to be removed from her foster parents home as they are the only loving parents she has known. I am enclosing a photo of myself and Tomorrow (that’s what we call T*****) taken this past Mother's Day at our celebration that included my mother and all three of my daughters. Even though I live in another state - we make it a point to stay close with our grandchildren and visit as often as possible…..as you can see from the photo Tomorrow and I are are bonded and share a loving grandparent/grandchild relationship. When I phone their home I can hear Tomorrow’s squeals of delight that Nana’s calling and my daughter says she runs to get the photo album I made for her with my photo in it. My husband and I have a very stable marriage and own a small propane delivery service and 170 acre farm in Missouri. We raise cattle and horses, and our small farm provides our family with fresh eggs and produce. We have 2 other grandchildren with special needs (autism and spina bifida) and our family is well equipped to provide the extra care,
support and attention these children and their parents require. I hope this provides you with a clear idea of how Tomorrow will benefit should you decide to terminate her biological parents rights and open her for permanent placement through adoption with her foster parents Mike and J****** F** . I thank you for your time and concern for this situation.
Sincerely, A** M. P*****

Letter from our Case Manager with Ariel Clinical Services

Friday, June 05, 2009

In regards to: Tomorrow ******

The Honorable Judge Woods

Denver Juvenile Court

1437 Bannock Street

Room 157

Denver, CO 80202





Dear Judge Woods,



I am writing this letter in regards to Tomorrow ******, who is living in the foster home of Mike and J**** F**. I am the Case Manager through the CPA and visit the home two times per month and have witnessed Tomorrow’s extraordinary growth over time. It is my understanding that your final judging will be on June 11 to determine if parental rights on Tomorrow will be terminated. I felt the need to write this letter because I feel strongly that Tomorrow should remain in the F** home on a permanent basis. Since being placed with Mike and J**** on October 12, 2007, Tomorrow has exceeded all expectations set out for her by doctors and therapists. Tomorrow has excelled in all of her developmental milestones, which I believe would not be the case if she were still with her biological parents. It is my understanding that no one has accepted responsibility for Tomorrow’s injuries occurred during the first five weeks of her life. It would be devastating to Tomorrow’s future developments to be returned to an environment that is the same as when she was removed. It seems unlikely that Tomorrow will be safe with her birth mother now since she has never accepted responsibility for Tomorrow’s injuries, nor made any attempt to discover what actually happened. How can Tomorrow be protected if her caregivers doubt that her injuries occurred and were as severe as reported by the treating doctors? Mike and J**** F** have provided Tomorrow with a stable, safe, and loving home that I believe is the reason for her astounding advances. They love her like their own child and Tomorrow is clearly bonded with them, which is evident by their interactions together. I would like to thank you in advance for taking the time to read my letter. Again, I can not say enough how strongly I feel that Tomorrow ****** should not be returned to her biological mother, but should remain with the only loving family she has ever known.



Respectfully,



Michelle P*****

Case Manager

Ariel Clinical Services

Letter from "Dr. Kiki"!

June 3, 2009

Honorable Judge Woods:

I am a pediatrician in the Foster Care Clinic at The Children’s Hospital. I am writing this letter on behalf of a very special patient of mine, Tomorrow ******.

I first met Tomorrow when she was 5 months old. She had been placed in Foster Care with J****** and Michael F** at 5-1/2 weeks of age. As you know, as a very young infant

Tomorrow suffered incredible traumatic injury, and is lucky to be alive. Over the past 16 months, I have watched this infant absolutely thrive under the care of her Foster Parents.

For example, pediatricians rely heavily on growth parameters in the first year of life as an indicator of overall health. When Tomorrow first presented to Children’s with her extensive injuries, she was at the 25% of weight for infant girls her age. Under J****** and Michael’s care, she has not only maintained this growth rate, but has accelerated, and now is close to the 50%. Her length/height has increased from the 25% to 75% during the same time. Finally, her head growth which reflects brain growth/development has increased from 10% to almost 50% - wow!

In addition, pediatricians follow developmental progress, especially in young infants. Tomorrow has reached her developmental milestones under Michael and J******’s care far ahead of infants her age, and even ahead of infants several months older. She is actually the most developmentally advanced infant I have ever seen in 15 years of practice/3 years of Residency. At 6 months, Tomorrow was crawling, pulling up to stand, pushing chair around the room, saying mama specifically and daddy specifically to J****** and Michael respectively, and saying several other words. Most infants do not achieve these milestones until 9-14 months of age. Again…wow!

Finally, the most important aspect of Tomorrow's healing, resilience, and ability to thrive is her very securely bonded relationship with her Foster Parents. She adores them, trusts them, and is willing to let herself flourish under their care. Any child who survived the trauma that

Tomorrow did as a young infant would expectedly and understandably be withdrawn, delayed, and unable to bond with adults for some time. Tomorrow has defied all of these sorts of expectations.

I truly believe this beautiful child who could have died at a very young age is in the most ideal home I can imagine to guarantee her success. She absolutely needs this consistent, loving, nurturing environment to become all that she has the potential to be in life.



Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions. And thank you for your time.



Sincerely,

Kathleen (Kiki) Traylor, MD

Pediatric Physician, The Children’s Hospital Foster Care Clinic

Senior Manager, Government Affairs, Amgen Inc.

Former Colorado State Senator

And once again, a voice of reason is heard.

Today we had a visit from the Guardian Ad Litem (GAL). She has an assistant who has been doing home visits but I imagine she is required to visit herself from time to time.

She asked me the usual questions about how Tomorrow is doing and watched as I struggled to change her diaper and get her redressed and settled down for a bottle and a nap (the visit was right at nap time).

Then, she basically talked me out of having Tomorrow's sister in our home. She went over all of her negative behaviors: how she acts out sexually toward her foster brother and foster father, cusses people out, destroys property, fights violently with her sister, knocks over bookshelves, spits, throws things, you name it. She shared her concern that her outbursts would be very upsetting to our family. She said she is mostly concerned that Tomorrow would be negatively affected and that our boys would be as well. She also said the judge will most likely recommend that the other two girls are placed separately for adoption, which really breaks my heart while I do understand why.

Oh! She also explained why the judge did not go ahead with TPR on May 27th. Apparently he is extremely thorough and writes up a detailed account of his decision which he reads into the record. So that is why he keeps notes on his laptop and why he wanted time to make his decision. The GAL said she expects him to terminate parental rights for all three of the younger girls, and to expect that it will take some time while he explains his decisions with regard to each child in the case.

Then she went on and on about how well we are doing with Tomorrow and that felt really good. We don't get a lot of recognition-- not that any parents ever do really, but I mean as foster parents-- probably because we "only have the one foster child" and are seen by other foster parents as being inexperienced (even though we had two children before fostering), selfish and other such nonsense because we want to adopt.

All in all, it was a very reassuring visit. I feel somewhat relieved but also very sad that every professional who knows us and Tomorrow's sister does not think we should take her in. And not that she wouldn't do well in our home-- because it would be a definite upgrade for her-- but solely based on their opinions of what her presence could do to our family. We haven't even had a chance to have her over for a visit or respite. So while I want to believe the professionals who have worked with her and us, and there are definitely days when I feel like I am at the limit of my patience-- I still feel a tugging at my heart that means I haven't completely let go of the idea.

I think I may have let my strong desire to keep the two sisters together cloud my perspective and I couldn't see the forest for the two little saplings. It splinters my soul that a judge may recommend three sisters be separated, after all they have been through. But if it makes all three of the more adoptable, it can't be so bad. The GAL believes that the other two sisters would benefit from being only children due to their severe dysfunction with siblings, but it is still hard for me to accept as a sister myself. I keep trying to compare my family with theirs, but there is no comparison. Just like how I struggled with trying to understand how a mother could not know her baby was hurt, the bottom line was that the birth mom does not feel and think the way I do; and her daughters do not behave the way my sisters and I do. It is hard to imagine, but I believe in my heart that this particular set of people in DHS really do want what is best for these girls. According to the GAL, the judge is also looking ahead and realizing that it may be very difficult or even impossible to find a family who will adopt both of Tomorrow's sisters with their extreme behaviors and needs.

I wish we could be that family, but we have to put the three we already care for first...it's all I can imagine at this moment...just for today...for now.

So that's the latest. Bad news with good, as usual. Bittersweet as always.

Thank you in advance for not saying 'I told you so' even if you did.

Letter from Aunt J

The Honorable Judge Woods
Denver Juvenile Court
1437 Bannock Street
Room 157
Denver, CO 80202


CASE #: 2007
In the interest of: TOMORROW ******


Honorable Judge Woods,

I am writing this letter to express my sincere concern for the child named TTomorrow M***** (we call her M***) if she is to be reunified with her birth mother, Linda, and her “significant other” Stephen. I am Tomorrow’s foster Aunt, but you see, I don’t really even think of her as a foster child anymore. She is an amazing part of our family, she has bonded with me in ways that some of my blood relatives haven’t yet! I was there with my sister J**** and her family when they went to visit Tomorrow for the first time at Children’s Hospital. I have seen children in the hospital, in fact my own child was in the NICU for the first week of his life, but I had never seen anything like this in my life. The smallest child was lying alone in a bed/crib and yet you knew she wouldn’t come to any harm alone there as she was in a body cast from toe to sternum. No flowers were in the room, no sign of family concern, only the child. Alone. My sister J****** F** and her husband Michael F** then went on to care for and give therapeutic respite to this sweet child from that day forward.

Tomorrow was expected to walk with braces, have developmental disabilities, and even display severe attachment disorders. She is no such child. Because of the love and care my sister and her family have provided as if she were their own, she has thrived in ways we could never have predicted. She calls me “Ahh J” and I am so proud to be her Auntie. She is a special child and we all are so very concerned for her safety if she were to be returned to her biological family. She was abused at 3 to 5 weeks that resulted in 24 broken bones, what kind of abuse to what results could we expect at age 2, 3, and so on? I am a supporter of reform policies in our current system, but in this case, Tomorrow does not have the time to wait for this family to “reform”. She is completely bonded with the F Family, and her extended forever family (that’s us). I have seen firsthand how upset she becomes when separated from them (this is one piece of evidence we have to verify the effects of her abuse). I do not even want to imagine how severely traumatic it would be for her to be torn from the only family she knows. The F** Family would like to adopt Tomorrow ******, and I see no reason why they should not. In fact, I have heard that Linda M***** has approached the F**’s with such requests before. I truly believe that even Linda knows that Tomorrow would not be safe in her home. How can someone like Linda in one breath say that she has no idea how Tomorrow came to be so abused, and then in another breath plead with the foster family to adopt Tomorrow and her sister M****? She knows she should not be with her own daughters, that’s why! She cannot be trusted, because she must know what happened.

I know that you have many notes and have heard a lifetime of testimony on this case. I am appealing to you now as a personal witness to the positive people in this child’s life. The F** Family want to adopt Tomorrow more than even I will ever know. Please do not return this child to her biological family. The abuse cycle will perpetuate, and I just know this case would be back in front of you in less than a year.

Tomorrow M***** is in our hearts forever, no matter what you decide. I hope you are receiving many letters just like this one, to show just how much support the F** Family has for this noble cause. We are a large family, with a lot of love to spread around! I hope this letter did help you to see a personal side to the safe and happy life Tomorrow has with us. We love her so!


Thank you sincerely for your time and consideration.


Best Regards,


J******* B******, sister to J******* F**, beloved aunt to Tomorrow M*****