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As some may remember, the OCL is currently assessing us for custody. CAS has been called a dozen times to report incidents of verbal and emotional abuse towards my son. There was one incident of physical abuse, but CAS decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
He took my kids away last week for his holiday. They were camping at a Provincial park not very far from here. I spoke with the kids on their second day and my son told me quietly that he was sunburned. I told him I was sorry that happened and told him to make sure he had more sunscreen the next day. He and my daughter are very fair in complexion and I always use a 60 SPF on them. They've reddened slightly before, so I figured that was what happened.
They came home five days later. My son was complaining his burn hurt, so I told him to take his shirt off and I'd put some aloe on it. When he removed his shirt, and I nearly cried. His shoulders were red as beets and there was blistering and grayish dead skin. I'm talking the entire surface of both shoulders. I've never seen a burn like this. I tried to put on aloe, but he began shaking and crying in pain. I had to tell him to lie on his stomach and put a fan on him.
I asked him why he was so badly burned, when his sister didn't have even a tan. He said their dad gave them different sunscreens. He said hers had a number 50 on it, and his dad gave him one with a 15 on it and told him to put it on himself. Then, even with the bad burn, his father's air mattress had a leak, so he took my son's. So my son had to sleep on the hard ground, with a severe sunburn, and his sleeping bag was wet. When my son was trying to walk so his shirt wouldn't rub against his skin, his dad told him to "stop acting handicapped".
I took my son to the clinic. The doctor on duty was shocked at how bad the burn was. She asked if his dad did anything about it, but he hadn't taken him to a doctor or gotten him any medication.
She prescribed an antibiotic cream that is for the purpose of treating infected skin due to "serious burns". She also told me to get him Tylenol 1 for the pain at night. She also said for the rest of this summer and the entire summer next year, he has to wear the strongest SPF available, underneath those UV blocking shirts anytime he's in the sun or water. She said for the next year or so, he would be very sensitive to the sun.
She also said to take photos and bring them to his regular doctor to be put in his file, which I did. My son's doctor also agreed that the treatment the first doctor prescribed was right.
I am so upset. When his therapist spoke to my son, and he spoke to me about what happened (I showed him the photos), he asked if I wanted him to call CAS. I said no, because they won't do anything anyways. He thought about it and said he felt the need to call. He said he feels that given the history, he felt that this was a punishment towards my son.
Is this not clear cut neglect? That burn was totally preventable, and when it did happen, my son deserved to receive medical care immediately...not a week later.
He took my kids away last week for his holiday. They were camping at a Provincial park not very far from here. I spoke with the kids on their second day and my son told me quietly that he was sunburned. I told him I was sorry that happened and told him to make sure he had more sunscreen the next day. He and my daughter are very fair in complexion and I always use a 60 SPF on them. They've reddened slightly before, so I figured that was what happened.
They came home five days later. My son was complaining his burn hurt, so I told him to take his shirt off and I'd put some aloe on it. When he removed his shirt, and I nearly cried. His shoulders were red as beets and there was blistering and grayish dead skin. I'm talking the entire surface of both shoulders. I've never seen a burn like this. I tried to put on aloe, but he began shaking and crying in pain. I had to tell him to lie on his stomach and put a fan on him.
I asked him why he was so badly burned, when his sister didn't have even a tan. He said their dad gave them different sunscreens. He said hers had a number 50 on it, and his dad gave him one with a 15 on it and told him to put it on himself. Then, even with the bad burn, his father's air mattress had a leak, so he took my son's. So my son had to sleep on the hard ground, with a severe sunburn, and his sleeping bag was wet. When my son was trying to walk so his shirt wouldn't rub against his skin, his dad told him to "stop acting handicapped".
I took my son to the clinic. The doctor on duty was shocked at how bad the burn was. She asked if his dad did anything about it, but he hadn't taken him to a doctor or gotten him any medication.
She prescribed an antibiotic cream that is for the purpose of treating infected skin due to "serious burns". She also told me to get him Tylenol 1 for the pain at night. She also said for the rest of this summer and the entire summer next year, he has to wear the strongest SPF available, underneath those UV blocking shirts anytime he's in the sun or water. She said for the next year or so, he would be very sensitive to the sun.
She also said to take photos and bring them to his regular doctor to be put in his file, which I did. My son's doctor also agreed that the treatment the first doctor prescribed was right.
I am so upset. When his therapist spoke to my son, and he spoke to me about what happened (I showed him the photos), he asked if I wanted him to call CAS. I said no, because they won't do anything anyways. He thought about it and said he felt the need to call. He said he feels that given the history, he felt that this was a punishment towards my son.
Is this not clear cut neglect? That burn was totally preventable, and when it did happen, my son deserved to receive medical care immediately...not a week later.
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