Born weighing 1.5 lbs., due to Twin Twin Transfusion, Lexi was a little fighter. Her older brother, Wesley, and Lexi's custodial grandparents anxiously awaited the day Lexi would come home. Three months later. Lexi came home, weighing four pounds, on a feeding tube, hooked up to heart and lung monitors, with ten different, serious, medically diagnosed illnesses. According to the CASA Worker's reports, Wesley and Sandra Seely had a "clean and baby-ready" home. Doctor appointments were prearranged for Lexi's immmediate medical needs.

Each time Wesley had to leave after visiting with his grandparents, his screams of "NO Go, Mimi! NO Go, Paw-Paw!" fell on deaf ears. His grandparents, Wesley and Sandra Seely of Ft. Worth, Texas, had raised their grandson since he was six weeks old. They were the only parents he had known in his 15 months of life.

On August 23, 2001, Wesley and Sandra Seely welcomed their new grandson into the world. Due to his parents' inability to care for him, Sandra and Wesley were given custody of baby Wesley, named after his grandfather.

Texas Department Family Protective Services (TDFPS) placed Wesley with his grandparents when Wesley was six weeks old. Several months later, the court awarded the Seely's Permanent Managing Conservatorship (PMC) of their grandson, Wesley, with the permission of Wesley's mother..

During the 15 months that Wesley lived with his grandparents, CASA visits revealed that the Seely home was an excellent and appropriate environment for Wesley. The home was "clean and baby-ready;" Wesley "had his own room, plenty of toys and other appropriate accessories." The CASA worker, Anna Hunt, testified that the grandparents "were very nurturing with Wesley and sought medical care when needed."

On July 17, 2002, Wesley's twin sisters, Lexi and Shelby, were born critically ill and premature at 26 weeks gestation. Nine days later, Shelby passed away. Little Lexi survived, although born weighing only 1.5 pounds. Lexi improved and three months later, weighing 4.5 pounds, was able to go home with her grandparents. She had multiple diagnoses, including:

1. Anemia
   
2. Apnea
   
3. Cardiomyopathy
   
4. Chronic Lung Disease
   
5. Diuretic dependency
   
6. Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome
   
7. Oxygen dependency
   
8. Patent Ductus Arteriosis
   
9. Peripheral Pulmonic tenosis
   
10. Retinopathy

The Seely grandparents took every precaution in preparing for Lexi's medical needs. They attended training by hospital staff to enable them to care for Lexi's extensive medical needs. They were fully informed and prepared to care for their medically fragile grandbaby. Lexi required a feeding tube, and heart and lung monitors with alarms. The Seely's scheduled appointments with medical specialists to treat Lexi's numerous diagnoses.

Five days after coming home, Lexi's monitors went off for the second time that evening. Sandra performed CPR, called Grandpa Wesley who had just pulled out the driveway, and drove Lexi to Cook's Children's Hospital, seven miles from their home. CPS records reflect Sandra Seely did not seek immediate medical attention because she did not call an ambulance. From previous experience, Sandra knew that she could drive to the hospital in less time than required for an ambulance to locate her home.

Records indicate that Sandra Seely and a nurse at Cook's Children's Hospital performed CPR on Lexi, a common cause of retinal hemorrhages in premature babies.

11 days after Lexi was admitted to the hospital. Dr. Norman diagnosed Lexi with retinal hemorrages (bleeding in the eyes), Without an investigation into the reality of Lexi's medical conditions (by obtaining a second opinion, or calling an expert in Shaken Baby Syndrome,) CPS placed Lexi in foster care. Initially, Dr. Norman thought the retinal hemorrhages "might be SBS." After retracting the damning statement that Lexi's grandparents "Might" have harmed her, Dr. Norman's three little words literally destroyed an entire family. Wesley, who had never known another parent was taken by CPS, and placed with his great grandmother, and later placed in the foster home with his baby sister, Lexi; although, Wesley did not know Lexi.

on October 28, 2002, Lexi was admitted to Cook's Children's Hospital in Ft. Worth, Texas, with a respiratory infection, and placed on a ventilator.

On November 8, 2002, eleven days after Lexi had been admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unity (PICU), Dr. Norman, an ophthalmologist, diagnosed Lexi with retinal hemorrhages.

Dr. Norman stated, "It might be" Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS), although other doctors questioned whether the retinal hemorrhages were caused by her extremely premature birth and numerous medical diagnoses.

A full body scan revealed no further trauma. Lexi displayed no other symptoms of SBS, which can include fractured bones, brain injuries, bleeding in the brain, and finger bruising as a result of being held tightly.

Shaking a three month old, 4.5 pound baby to the degree required to cause retinal hemorrhaging would have, at the very least, left finger bruises on her little 4.5 lb. body. Retinal Hemorrhages alone cannot be used to diagnose Shaken Baby Syndrome.

According to Toni Blake, of Second Chair, Shaken Baby Syndrome Defense, Lexi was such a sick baby that any one of her many medical diagnoses could have caused the retinal hemorrhages - specifically anemia, oxygen dependency, and having had CPR performed twice - once by Sandra and again by a nurse at Cooks Children's Hospital.

Without further investigation of the case or obtaining a second medical opinion, CPS accepted Dr. Norman's statement that Lexi "might have" been Shaken. CPS removed Lexi and 15-month-old Wesley from their grandparents' care. Wesley was placed with his great grandmother and Lexi was placed in a foster home.

The result of one doctor's erroneous diagnosis and the hasty actions of CPS, Lexi and Wesley lived in foster care from 2002-2005.

CPS Caseworker, Lashika Christmas, testified that she had never observed the children with their grandparents. However, the CASA worker, Anna Hunt, testified that she had observed the children with their grandparents and with the foster parents. At the trial court, the CASA worker recommended returning both children to their grandparent's care. At the Appeal, the CASA worker recommended placing Wesley with his grandparents, allowing the foster parents to adopt Lexi, and maintaining visitation for the children.

The Seely's fulfilled all requirements that CPS requested of them, including undergoing psychological exams, taking parenting and anger management classes, etc. All tests came back with positive results relating to their characters and their ability to love, nurture, and properly care for their grandchildren.

At the request of the district attorney, Wesley, Sandra, and three members of their family who had been with Lexi during the five days she was home, took polygraph tests; all of them passed. (Sandra Seely's Polygraph) PDF

CPS refused to return the children to the custody of their grandparents. Sandra and Wesley were told by CPS that they would not be considered for placement of Wesley and Lexi because the Seely's refused to admit that they had done anything wrong, or that anything had happened to Lexi in their home.

The Seely's were granted supervised visits with Lexi for one hour each month. According to Sandra Seely, the CPS caseworker stated that she refused to read the hundreds of pages of medical data and medical diagnoses of Lexi. Fortunately, The Lutheran Social Services made themselves available to the Seely's so they could visit their granddaughter.

Wesley and Sandra Seely spent every penny they had, and sold nearly everything they owned, to pay legal fees to fight CPS's refusal to return their grandchildren home.

The first 12-15 months of a CPS removal case is the most important time of the case. The Seely's attorney for the first year, Anand Alloju, was under investigation by the Drug Enforcement Agency; eventually convicted of drug distribution and laundering drug money, along with Dallas Socialite, Karen Luchessi.

The Seely family had no way of knowing their attorney was more involved with drugs than with providing appropriate legal representation.

April 27, 2004, the trial court of Judge Kimberly Brown, denied the Seely's and the foster parents' Motion to Adopt both children and the state took PMC of Lexi and Wesley.

August 2004, the Seely's attorneys, David Pearson and Vaughn Bailey, appealed Judge Kimberly Brown's ruling to the Second District of Texas, Court of Appeals, in Fort Worth.

Mid 2004, Governor Perry ordered an investigation into the systemic problems within CPS, to be conducted by the Office of Inspector General. Lexi Seely needed a lung transplant and was denied a transplant by the Houston Transplant Team because she was in foster care, and foster care is an unstable environment for a transplant recipient.

The director of Hope4KidZ was mortified that this little girl who had fought so hard to live was going to die because foster care is deemed an unstable environment for a transplant recipient. The Seely's made arrangements to bring Lexi to Houston and Sandra had verified that her insurance would cover the costs of transplant surgery. The children had been in foster care for

Lexi Seely's plight was sent to Wayne Sneed at the Office of Inspector General. On August 13, 2004, Mr. Sneed contacted Hope4KidZ' Director from his cell phone in order to get accurate information about Lexi Seely, as he was on his way to present this baby's "death sentence" to the Commissioner.

On August 20, 2004, Lexi Seely was adopted by the foster parents, without notice to the Seely's attorney, and while the trial court's ruling was under appeal.

Lexi was placed on the Lung Transplant List and shortly afterward, she received the lung transplant that would save her life.

August 18, 2005, when 323rd District Court rendered their decision, Lexi was healthier than she had ever been in her short life. She was reported to have completely recovered from the lung transplant.

According to the Transplant Team in Houston, the life expectancy for a two year old who receives a lung transplant is approximately 10 years. The Seely's were trying to do what was best for both of their grandchildren. Because Lexi had lived all her life with the foster parents, the Seely's agreed to allow Lexi to remain with her foster parents.

Wesley had spent the first 15 months of his life with his grandparents, and another 9 months living with his great-grandmother, down the road from the grandparents who he spent time with, every day. Wesley Meyers was hooked-at-the-hip with Grandpa Wesley.

Appellate Decision (PDF)

The Appellate Court determined that the "best interest of children" mandated the siblings stay together. It is important to note that Wesley did not know Lexi for the first Two Years of his life. CPS removed Wesley from his great-grandmother's care and placed him into the foster home with Lexi, a sister he did not know and with whom he had no bond.

According to the foster parent's testimony, the caseeworker planned to place Wesley in the foster home with Lexi, from November 12, 2002 when Lexi came into their care. It appears, according to the 2nd Court of Appeals ruling, that CPS had planned to place both children in the foster home in order to allow the foster parents to adopt them.

The CASA worker expressed concern about Wesley when she visited the foster home. According to the CASA worker, Wesley did not interact with the foster parents and stayed in his room; although, Lexi was bonded with the foster parents.

The appellate court was concerned with maintaining stability for Wesley. CPS had moved him several times since birth and Grandpa Wesley was the love of little Wesley's life. Testimonials from case workers and the foster parents stated that Wesley was extremely close to his grandparents..

The court denied the Seely's access to both the children for over a year, awaiting a decision from the Second Court of Appeals. The children's foster parent testified that although she believed that the children were bonded with their grandparents, giving them access might cause medical problems for Lexi. According to the Houston Transplant Team, "Quality of life is usually dramatically improved following transplantation." Because Lexi has had the lung transplant, she is healthier than she had been in her life.

The foster parent testified that grandparent access might cause emotional distress to Wesley, further stating that Wesley was often sick after each visit with his grandparents.

Did she not consider the possibility that Wesley may have suffered separation anxiety after having to leave his grandparents?

The 2nd Court of Appeals upheld the Trial court's decision to deny PMC to the Seely's, and allowed the foster parents to adopt both children.

The Guardian Ad Litem had previously told the Seely's that the foster parents adopted Lexi on August 20, 2004.

"Finally, the children's guardian ad litem asked the Court to allow supervised visitation between the children and the grandparents to continue. We believe that this would have been an appropriate solution, but we see no evidence in the trial record that the grandparents alternatively sought or would have accepted supervised access to the children, especially W.M., nor can we conclude that the trial court abused its discretion by ruling differently than we would have.

Based on the record, we cannot say that the trial court abused its discretion in denying grandparent access. But we can say that the law does not have all the answers, and we can say that a two-year-old's complete loss of the two most long-term, stable influences in his life cannot be a good thing, and we can implore the four adults who claim to love these children and want what is best for them to work toward a private compromise outside the legal system that will ensure the children's bright, stable future without erasing the positive remnants of their past."

As of March 2007, Sandra and Wesley Seely have not been allowed to visit Lexi or Wesley.

The Seely's were proven innocent of any wrongdoing, but the Texas Courts determined it was in the best interest of the children to be adopted.

The allegation that Sandra or Wesley Seely had Shaken Lexi, causing retinal hemorrhages, was denounced in the Appellate Decision.

The question remains why their beloved grandchildren were kept in state foster care for over two years, and away from the grandparents who love them, and care for them, without government paid subsidy.

Will these children ever have the stable life that they deserve?