(This
column was published in the North
Shore News on
Nov. 18, 1998)
Ministry
helps further family tragedy
By Leo Knight
ON
a forested back road in the cottage country outside Timmins,
Ontario, the young woman driving was practising for her upcoming
road test. She was with her husband and a family friend as well
as their five-year-old daughter.
She
had driven about 30 kilometres on the winding gravel road when
she lost control.
The
car flipped and came to rest against a big rock which smashed
through the side windows. The little girl's head was crushed by
the rock, killing her instantly.
Can
any of us truly imagine the mother's grief as she stared down at
her little girl on the cold hospital gurney?
She put her hands on the little girl's gaping mouth and gently closed it.
She then folded her tiny hands on her chest, bent over and kissed her only child goodbye -- forever.
On the day of the funeral, she spent several hours alone with the open casket containing her child. Because of the nature of the injuries, the hospital had to cut the little girl's hair to treat the damage to her head.
The
mother didn't want people to see her that way. She went and
purchased a small, flowered veil to hide the damage.
After
the couple buried the battered and broken little girl, the
mother couldn't cope with the memories in their home. Every room
meant something. Every stick of furniture reminded her of an
event, a moment of time spent with her cherished child.
The
dad did what he could. He tried to convince his wife it wasn't
her fault, but nothing helped. They decided to sell their house
and move to British Columbia, to look for a fresh start.
The
couple, who had fled their native Romania and the despotic,
brutal regime of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, took a
substantial financial loss on their home just to get away from
the nightmares.
Ten
months after the tragic death of their precious little girl,
they moved to the Lower Mainland and rented an apartment,
anxious to put their tragedy behind them.
Little
did they know at the time, the troubles of their past would
ultimately manifest themselves into problems that would put them
at odds with a government's ham-fistedness which would do the
late, but not lamented, Ceausescu proud.
You
see, when Iaon Marcu left his wife and little girl in a small
village in Romania and secretly fled to the west, Ceausescu's
secret police arrested the young mother, Maricela, and demanded
to know the whereabouts of her husband.
She
didn't know exactly and told the government thugs that. Despite
their anger, they shrugged in frustration and left Maricela and
her two-year-old daughter alone. They were able to join Iaon in
Timmins just a few months later.
On
Feb. 1, 1994, Maricela gave birth to a boy and a new source of
joy for the couple. But she couldn't shake the guilt of what had
happened to her little girl. She was depressed and suffered from
headaches and occasional loss of balance.
A
year and a half later, on April 27, 1995, she gave birth to
another child, a girl.
Unfortunately,
the child was born with an umbilical infection. Perhaps not a
big deal, but for a mom wracked with the guilt of believing she
was solely responsible for the death of her first born, any
medical problem became dire.
She
was so worried for the baby, she became what can only be
described as over-protective.
Apparently
this is a bad thing if one believes the Ministry for Children
and Families.
When
the little girl was almost three years old, she developed a
urinary tract infection which was sporadic in its symptoms.
Maricela
began taking the child to her family doctor describing the
problem. But the doctor couldn't diagnose any specific ailment.
And
that's where the trouble started.
Maricela
Marcu was going to do everything in her power to ensure this
little girl was protected. She owed it to her because of what
had happened to her first daughter.
But
because the family doctor couldn't diagnose the trouble with the
child, she suggested the possibility the mother, Maricela, might
have Munchausen's Syndrome By Proxy (MSBP), a dubious
psychiatric condition in which the sufferer harms a third person
ostensibly to get attention for himself.
In
steps the NDP government.
The
little girl was examined by a battery of doctors who were unable
to find any medical problem.
The
child exhibited all the symptoms of a relatively simple urinary
tract infection, but the doctors ignored the mother's
information largely, I suspect, because of the first physician's
suggestion of MSBP.
Ultimately,
another doctor diagnosed and successfully treated the problem.
But by now the ministry was fixated on the mother.
They
attempted to seize the little girl from the family. Maricela
Marcu went into hiding to keep the child away from the "brownshirts"
masquerading as social workers.
Before
Judge William MacDonald, the father, Iaon Marcu, was ordered to
divulge the whereabouts of his wife and daughter.
But
he couldn't.
He
literally didn't know. By design of family advocate Kari Simpson
of the Citizen's Research Institute, mom and the two kids were
taken to an undisclosed location.
The
assigned social worker, a forty-something female without any
apparent specific qualifications, named Julie Cringle, applied
the wealth of her two years' experience and petitioned the court
to force Iaon to reveal the whereabouts. Judge MacDonald tried
to force the man by sentencing him to 30 days in jail.
Fortunately,
last Friday, Judge MacDonald had a fit of common sense and
released Iaon two weeks into his sentence. A psychiatric
assessment of Maricela by highly respected UBC forensic
psychiatrist, Dr. Joe Noone, determined she had some emotional
neuroses (who wouldn't?) but she did not have MSBP. Did this
change the way the ministry dealt with the case.
Hardly.
They wanted to shop for a doctor until they found someone who
would come up with the "right" findings.
Currently
a warrant exists for the arrest of Maricela Marcu and the
apprehension of their little girl.
Why?
Because she's an over-protective mother?
Maricela
Marcu needs some help to overcome her guilt and emotional trauma
to assist her in the way she raises her kids. No question. But
the last thing she (or the little girl) needs is the ham-fisted
approach of a socialist collection of morons masquerading as
professionals in the Ministry for Children and Families.
Ceausescu's communists didn't even dare do what Glen Clark's army of lunatics don't seem to have a problem with.
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