DR. JONES' HEARING SYNOPSIS
(DAY FIVE)
September 28, 2006
from Sandy Berenbaum
Well over 100 people were present in the tightly packed room, for the 5th
day of
the hearing against Dr. Jones (estimates say between 120 to 175)
There was just one witness testifying - R, the former wife of the man who
had
filed the complaint against Dr. Jones, with the health department of the
State
of CT. She testified regarding Dr. Jones treatment of her two children,
and
specifically addressed the charges against Dr. Jones, clarifying a number
of
points involved in these charges. Her two children, who had been diagnosed
and
treated by Dr. Jones, were in the courtroom with her.
One point in question has been whether Dr. Jones prescribed antibiotics to
treat
Lyme disease in children he had not seen. R's testimony indicated that he
had
simply renewed a prescription for antibiotics for an illness diagnosed by
a
Nevada physician. No Lyme diagnosis had been made until the children were
seen
and examined.
Another point, the question of Dr. Jones' involvement with the school
prior to
seeing the children, was also clarified. The school psychologist, faced
with
the problem of expelling R's son due to an uncontrolled chronic cough and
multiple behavior problems, telling the mother that she did think there
was
something wrong with the child, beyond simply behavioral issues, called
Dr.
Jones to discuss the matter. He did not diagnose Lyme at that time,
advising
the psychologist that the children did have an appointment to be examined
and
evaluated for Lyme, and suggested that an interim measure, instead of
expelling
the child, might be to place him on homebound instruction. The school did
that,
the child, who was failing everything, received instruction at home, was
eventually diagnosed with Lyme, and, once treated, returned to school at
the
beginning of the next school year. R testified to how well her son was now
doing at school, both behaviorally and academically, telling the panel
that her
son began to like school, and look forward to going, for the first time in
his
life.
R poignantly told of her children's medical history, ill from birth, and
her
valiant efforts to pursue answers, to find out what was causing their
array of
symptoms. Her own diagnosis of Lyme, by a physician in Florida, who
thought the
children might have been born with Lyme, led to her seeking out Dr. Jones,
learning from her doctor that he was the best in the country where
pediatric
Lyme disease is concerned.
R's extensive background as a nurse, with both ER and trauma experience
was very
impressive. She testified that, in addition to the possibility that her
children were born with Lyme, she had told Dr. Jones that there had been
tick-bites. Her ability to recognize ticks carrying Lyme disease,
previously
called into question by the health department attorney, was answered well
by R
when she advised the panel of her professional background. In addition to
her
work as a nurse, she had worked for the forest service for 5 years, and
had, in
fact, written a report that included identification of ticks, including
Ixodes
Scapularis. Clearly, this supported Dr. Jones' testimony that R was able
to
identify the type of tick that had bitten her children!
R testified as to the extent that the children's father went to in order
to
discredit her. She felt compelled, due to financial problems, to pursue
shared
payment of medical bills, and she had to address her children's expressed
concerns about their physical safety when with their father. Actions R
took led
to her ex-husband's threat that he would seek sole custody, and allege
that R
had mental problems. R's testimony also attested to the children's father
making threats against various physicians, if they were to treat the
children.
R painted the picture of a punitive father, with a background of abuse of
his
ex-wife, then his children, who did not become involved with the
children's
medical care until he was threatened with the possibility of having to pay
for
the cost. There was no attempt on the part of the health department
attorney to
challenge the picture of a vindictive father whose agenda was contrary to
the
best interests of his children when he filed the complaint with the health
department. Again, one must question why the CT Dept. of Health would file
charges against Dr. Jones without investigating the source of the
complaint,
particularly since they claim the pursuit of Dr. Jones is NOT about Lyme
disease!!
R testified regarding the problems her son was having in school -
academic,
medical (among other things, the persistent cough) and behavioral. The
school
did not know what to do. R testified that she would have home-schooled
him, but
knew that her ex-husband would not agree to that. The school psychologist,
to
her credit, sought out Dr. Jones, to get input, in her attempts, it
appears, to
do her job - provide an education for a complicated, difficult child. R
was
grateful that Dr. Jones made a suggestion that could work, and provide an
education for her son.
R testified as to the thoroughness of Dr. Jones' medical examination of
her
children. She testified that she "was very impressed with his
examination.I
have never seen a doctor do that, except in trauma." She testified
regarding
the thorough record keeping she did, in order to provide Dr. Jones with
the
feedback he needed during the course of her children's treatment. She had
approached doctors regarding locally monitoring the children, and two
agreed to
do it, until they received threatening phone calls from her ex-husband,
and that
led to their backing down.
R refuted any allegation that the cause of her children's symptoms was
psychological. She said, "You can't alter an EEG, or the blood test
results
(anemia)." She spoke of the times when her children were playing happily,
then
would suddenly be stricken with headaches so bad that they lay on the
couch
crying for hours.
R gave testimony regarding the severity of her children's symptoms, and
the wide
array of symptoms (certainly supporting what is known about Lyme being a
multi-system illness). Her testimony of the years and years of pursuit of
medical diagnosis and treatment for her children, brought tears to the
eyes of
many. She certainly presented herself as a highly educated medical
professional, and a compassionate mother, who did a wonderful job of
parenting,
in pursuing answers ever since the birth of her children.
She testified as to the current good health of her children, and their
ability
to function well, and attributes these facts to Dr. Jones' diagnosis and
treatment.
R's testimony ended the 5th day of the hearing.
Sandy Berenbaum, LCSW, BCD
Family Connections Center for Counseling
Brewster, New York ***
Next Day...