REUNITING THE SANDERS FAMILY
THE SANDERS FAMILY STORY
You Are The Power has once again taken up the cause of a family suffering from medical abduction.
This is Joslyn and Josiah Sanders.
Josiah was a healthy baby boy born in May of 2021, but by March of 2023, he began to experience health issues. Joslyn took him to physicians for treatment for various issues leading to one perscribing a very powerful antibiotic. Understandably concerned with this, Joslyn sought a second opinion from her primary pediatrician who recommended and perscribed a less powerful medication.
This decision prompted CPS to conduct a wellness check accompanied by the police. Although the officers noted that Josiah was under no imminent threat, and lacking a court order, CPS removed Josiah from his family’s home.
Since then, Josiah’s condition has declined while under CPS guardianship. Joslyn has been denied access to Josiah’s medical records, has had her right to visit him curtailed to one hour per week, and Josiah’s grandfather, Jason, has been barred from seeing Josiah.
Here’s how you can help us reunite this family
Email the persons involved
Resepectfully contact the following individuals using our email template given below.
CPI Investigations:
- Anuki Wachsman, CPI INV Trainee Spec 1 – Anuki.Wachsman@dfps.texas.gov
- Cynthia Grayson, Supervisor – Cynthia.Grayson2@dfps.texas.gov
- Laura Lewis, Program Director – Laura.Lewis@dfps.texas.gov
- Lishawa Jackson, Program Administrator – Lishawa.Jackson@dfps.texas.gov
- LeeAnn Marks, Regional Director – Rebecca.Marks@dfps.texas.gov
Texas Governors’ Office
- Greg Abbott, Governor – Gregg.Abbott@gov.texas.gov
- Gardner Pate, Governor’s Chief of Staff – Gardner.Pate@gov.texas.gov
Dear ______,
I am writing to you today over my concern about a baby boy who has been wrongfully removed from his family and the absolute lack of human respect demonstrated by Texas government employees. Josiah Sanders, only two years old, has been taken from his mother, Joslyn, without cause or a court order.
His mother brought him into Dallas Children’s Hospital in December 2023 at the recommendation of the child’s PCP due to swelling from an allergic reaction to a laundry detergent but after she took Josiah back to his PCP for a second opinion on an antibiotic, she was met with armed officers and CPS at her home, where they took Josiah from her without a court order. The attending officers did not feel the removal was warranted as they witnessed that there was no threat or danger to young Josiah in remaining with his family and CPS did not have the appropriate documents or orders to take Josiah.
Josiah has now spent over two months away from his family, spending Christmas in the hospital with his mother being able to visit him only one hour a week. During these last couple months, Josiah was given a black box labeled drug that his mother did not consent to. As his mother was barred from sitting at his bedside and advocating for his best medical treatment, doctors and CPS failed to consult with Josiah’s own PCP and nutritional therapist, exacerbating and prolonging little Josiah’s already unnecessary hospital stay.
Throughout this entire ordeal, Josiah’s mother and grandfather have worked tirelessly to be reunited with their baby boy, certain that this nightmare would end at any moment as the medical reports, police report, and common sense support.
I ask that you help to end this nightmare for Josiah and his family, restore the basic human respect that each of them deserve, and help us to bring him home to his mother, where he belongs.
Respectfully,
[Your Name]
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details
Josiah Sanders, a two-and-a-half-year-old boy, was removed by CPS from his mother, Joslyn Sanders, a paraplegic woman from Denton, TX, after he developed an allergic reaction to a laundry detergent.
Josiah was a healthy baby boy born in May of 2021. After he stopped breastfeeding in March of 2023, he experienced some eating difficulties and had a minor seizure. A visit to the ER revealed a mild calcium deficiency. A subsequent follow-up with Josiah’s primary care physician (PCP) and Dallas Children’s Hospital saw his levels improve.
On October 4, 2023, Joslyn took Josiah to see his PCP about a rash he had developed as a reaction to a new laundry detergent. His doctor prescribed a topical steroid cream and an antibiotic. During this visit, they also discussed referrals for nutritional therapy.
At the beginning of December, Josiah was registered with Green Apple Therapy for Feeding Difficulties and on December 15, 2023, he received an in-home food therapy evaluation.
By December 20, 2023, Josiah’s dermatitis had mostly resolved but as he was exhibiting some swelling, his mother took him back to his PCP where it was determined that he needed blood work and he was sent to Dallas Children’s Hospital. There, Josiah underwent exams and the presiding doctor prescribed Clindamycin. The reports showed that Josiah’s infection was minimal and he was not at risk of sepsis. Due to this, Joslyn opted against putting her son on this black box warning antibiotic which is typically reserved for severe infections, and withdrew her son from medical treatment at the Dallas Children’s Hospital to follow up with his PCP. On December 21, 2023, after consulting with his PCP and a pharmacist, Josiah was started on a more mild antibiotic, Bactrim. Later that day, local police officers arrived to do a wellness check, accompanied by CPS. Although the officers noted that Josiah was under no imminent threat, and lacking a court order, CPS removed Josiah from his family home.
Without consulting his PCP, Josiah was almost immediately placed on Clindamycin and a list of other medications, and Joslyn was blocked from having access to her child’s medical charts and records.
A couple of days later, on December 23rd, Joslyn received a call from CPS indicating that Josiah might be undergoing heart surgery. For the first time since he was taken, Joslyn was allowed to see her son while he was in the hospital. Josiah was hungry and unwell. He had to have a PICC line placed in order to keep him nourished.
The Sanders family spent their first Christmas apart, with two-year-old Josiah in the hospital, no communication provided to his family. Their next family visit, which was scheduled for the day after Christmas, was canceled by CPS. Under the custody of CPS, Josiah’s health deteriorated and, by December 30th, when Joslyn was allowed to visit him again, the doctor reported that Josiah was no longer being treated for an infection. Josiah, with a nasogastric tube in place, was suffering from a swollen stomach, running a fever, coughing, and vomiting – all known side effects of Clindamycin. CPS made it clear that only Joslyn would be allowed to see Josiah for one hour per week under the supervision of multiple armed security officers. Joslyn’s father, Jason, who is also her ADA companion and part of Josiah’s household, would not be allowed to see Josiah under any circumstances.
Although the Sanders’ initial hearing should have taken place within 14 days of Josiah’s removal, their hearing has been repeatedly rescheduled for various reasons, including the claim that the court was unable to serve Joslyn because they did not have her address – the same address where CPS removed Josiah from her custody in December. Their updated court date is set for Wednesday, February 28th.
On February 19, 2024, Joslyn was able to attend a Medical Family Meeting with Dallas Children’s Hospital via Zoom where Josiah’s treating physician, nutritional therapist, and CPS workers were unable to answer questions about his condition. It was revealed that neither Josiah’s PCP nor his original nutritional therapist were contacted or consulted over the two months that he has been under CPS custody.
Despite the fact that Josiah was scheduled to be released from the hospital on February 20th, Joslyn received no communication from her CPS caseworker and her inquiry as to his status and placement went unanswered. Although Joslyn provided a list of seven family and friends with whom to place Josiah, CPS initially claimed that no one on this list would take Josiah. Later, they confirmed that they had called each person on the list but had not bothered to leave a message with anyone in order to receive a return call.