Rebecca Wanosik was already a pro when it came to being a mom. Zedyn was her fifth child. She knew to trust her gut when, three weeks after her baby was born, she realized there was something out of the ordinary.
She could place her hand on her daughter’s back and feel the crackling of ribs. It didn’t seem to hurt Zedyn, but something felt wrong. The pediatrician reassured Rebecca that everything was fine; she had a healthy baby adjusting to being in the world.
Six weeks passed, when Rebecca saw that something had started to bother her daughter. Zedyn cried whenever anyone touched her right arm, so naturally Rebecca brought her to the doctor. They saw a different pediatrician, since their primary one was busy. The doctor ordered x-rays. Shortly after the scans were done, a physician told her they needed to repeat the process. This time Rebecca wasn’t allowed in the room.
While she thought that was odd, nothing prepared her for what came next. When the doctor came out, he told Rebecca that they had found a fracture in Zedyn’s arm and in three of her ribs. He also told her that he had called the police and social services.
In just one day, Rebecca went from being a concerned mom taking her baby to the pediatrician, to losing all five of her kids to foster care. Her children did not return for the next ten months.
While Zedyn was Rebecca’s fifth child, it was her first child with her new husband, Anthony. Since the other four children showed no symptoms of abuse, social services figured that Anthony was the new factor. It didn’t matter that he had been away in military service when Zedyn’s injuries occurred. They had made up their minds that he was the abuser.
Rebecca and Anthony faced loss and confusion as they tried to reckon with how this had happened. Social services pressured them to admit the abuse, but it simply wasn’t true.
One day, a segment aired on 20/20, and they realized they weren’t alone. The segment featured two other couples, Andrew and Bria Huber, and Cynthia and Brandon Ross. They had identical stories. They had also had their children taken away after mysterious injuries were misinterpreted as abuse. These couples discovered that their children actually had underlying conditions that created brittle bones.
The children were diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a genetic condition that affects connective tissue. In the case of the Huber’s, their child also had a severe vitamin D deficiency. To learn more about Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, click here.
Rebecca set out to work. She found the parents on Facebook, who got her started on her own research. She found that when a child has unexplained fractures, the doctor should test for vitamin D and parathyroid levels. Although state doctors took an agonizing seven weeks to test Zedyn, it turned out her parathyroid levels were very high, and vitamin D very low. Curious, Rebecca went to the doctors to test her level as well. She found that she, too, was deficient in vitamin D.
Rebecca and Anthony were confident going into trial. They had proof that Zedyn’s injuries were caused by an underlying condition. When they found out their medical experts would not be allowed testify, they were terrified. Then they found another chance: the court allowed them to fly Zedyn to a specialist across the country. It was an expensive and difficult trip, but when they came back, the injuries had an explanation.
Zedyn was officially diagnosed with rickets as well as Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. EDS causes bones to bend and move in unexpected ways, and in severe cases like Zedyn’s, the results can be frightening.
The family was finally reunited. The transition was, of course, relieving, emotional, frightening, and full of love. Rebecca and Anthony are still dealing with the repercussions. Even though they won the court case, their names are still listed on the state child abuse registry. They can’t volunteer at schools or chaperone field trips, just one mark this trauma left on them.
Rebecca now uses her experience to prevent this from happening to other families. Along with the moms she met throughout her journey, as well as other parents in similar situations, she runs Fractured Families, an organization advocating for reform in family courts. She’s searching for a sponsor for a bill that would require a panel of third party medical experts to truly evaluate a child with unexplained fractures before they’re removed from their families. She’d like it to call it Zedyn’s Law, so Zedyn will grow up knowing her parents fought tooth and nail for her.
