The Skeptical OB wrote a very nice article about our family.  Abel Andrews, Superhero!
It is so nice to hear that your struggle has protected others.  It makes the burden a little lighter.  My son is my hero, too!  He tries harder than anyone I have ever met and makes me laugh every day!  Thanks Dr Amy, for thinking of us and for your work educationing others. 

November 27th, 2013 I received a phone call from my lawyer to inform me that  The State of Oregon has received Sovereign Immunity  in Abel's lawsuit.  Two and a half years of isolation, depositions and hope all crashing down around us.  I don't remember what all was said, and I have yet to read the latest manila envelope of neatly typed legal jargon that followed promptly in the mail.    When my husband came home I was wailing, surrounded by my half prepped Thanksgiving dishes.  Wailing is not crying.  It is deeper. Like a scream and a roar from deep in your gut. Primal and raw, normally for the shower where the sound of the water can drowned it all out.  But there my husband found me. He held me and I told him what they had said.  He sat for a minute and I studied his face watching. Waiting for him to say "That's not right, that's not fair!" Waiting for him to say, "What about when we are old, what about when we are gone . . . who will take care of Abel than . . .  we need a van.  we need a handicap accessible home!  We did our part!!  We were brave.  We told the truth.  We are RIGHT.  They all know it.  Abel MATTERS. What happened to our son should be acknowledged. THIS ISN'T FAIR!!!"   Instead he closed his eyes let out a surprised sigh with a whoosh and said, "I thought your brother . . . I thought someone had died."  (My brother is in the Special Forces and I had not heard from him in a quit a while.)  Then he brushed his hands on his pants and said "Welp, that sucks." and than he helped me up  . . . and that was kind of that.  I finished making dinner and he sat and colored with Abel. We decided to wait until after the holidays to tell our friends and family  so that we could sit back and enjoy the twinkle lights with our son for his 4th Christmas.  It was the best one yet.

Motherwise Birth Center is no longer in business.  As far as I know, Christyn King is living in Vermont and working as a doula.  Nicole Tucker is working to become a lactation consultant/fertility counselor/hypnotherapist.  Dana Johnson is still a practicing midwife in Bend.  We will continue to find a way to bring proper regulation and evidence based standards to midwifery in Oregon.  We will continue to share Abel's story to honor him and protect others.  We will continue to laugh and grow and love and fight for our son.  We are not dead yet!

Happy New Year!

“Look on every exit as being an entrance somewhere else.”
― Tom Stoppard