I love Dallas. I spent over five years there when my husband and I first got married. I love to go back and visit, so this story coming out of Dallas makes me sick and sad for the city.

Two little boys were thrown off a bridge before their mother jumped off the bridge herself. That is just the beginning of the story, unfortunately.

These boys had been in and out of the foster care system and had been victims of abuse by various family members, not just by their mother. The abuse dates back to 2004!

These boys, now ages six and eight, had been repeatedly burned, bruised and who knows what else. That means that they were no older than two and four when their abuse began, or at least when it was noticed and reported for the first time. Chances are their abuse began when they were much younger.

The abuse had been investigated, the boys removed from their home, returned home, abuse investigated again, removed again, returned again,

The last line of the article makes me furious and sick at the same time:

According to officials, CPS interviewed family members for possible placement, but found they were not suitable.

According to the same article, the boys had been abused by other family members as well as by their mother. If the boys had already been abused by family members, why in the world would a worker consider placing the boys there? Obviously this family is not willing to keep these boys safe.

In case this wasn’t bad enough, it is likely that one of the boys was hit by a car after being thrown off the bridge. The section of highway is not a back road. It is a heavily traveled road in and out of the city of Dallas. Even during non-rush hour times, it is still quite busy.

Social services is pushing for the boys to remain in foster care. Gee, you think? Why in the world would anyone consider returning these boys to this family? The younger boy is said to be doing “okay” and is able to visit his older brother in the hospital. How can this little boy be “okay?” He has suffered a major trauma, both physically and mentally. How can a six year old be expected to quickly recover from this? It will be years before he is able to emotionally heal from this, if at all. How do you emotionally cope with your mother trying to kill you after suffering years of abuse at the hands of your birth FAMILY, not just a birth parent?

With any luck, these boys will find a loving foster home that will help them deal with everything that has happened to them.

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